Preimplant radiographic assessment of available maxillary bone support. Comparison of tomographic and panoramic technique.

For maxillary implants it is essential that presurgical radiographic examination provides reliable assessment of the available bone support. Radiographic confirmation of the inclination of the alveolar crest is also necessary, to select optimum sites for insertion of implants. When preimplant radiographic assessment is based solely on a panoramic radiograph, only the bone height can be assessed and not the available bone volume or the inclination of the alveolar crest. Tomographic examination techniques allow for assessment not only of available bone height and volume but also of the inclination of the crest. In the present work tomographic and panoramic examinations of two cases are compared. The radiographic appearance of different alveolar crest forms is discussed. For preimplant assessment of the maxilla, tomography is the method of choice.