ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the significance of increased bone density according to whether bone grafts were applied using demographic data with Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) and to compare the bone densities between before and after implant prosthesis using the Hounsfield index. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six randomly selected computed tomography (CT) scans were used for the analysis. The same sites were evaluated digitally using the Hounsfield scale with V-Implant 2.0(TM), and the results were compared with maxillary posterior bone graft. Statistical data analysis was carried out to determine the correlation between the recorded Hounsfield unit (HU) of the bone graft and implant prosthesis using a Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Matched-pairs test. RESULTS: The bone grafted maxillary posterior teeth showed an increase in the mean values from-157 HU to 387 HU, whereas non-grafted maxillary posterior teeth showed an increase from 62 HU to 342 HU. After implantation, the grafted and non-grafted groups showed significantly higher bone density than before implantation. However, the grafted group showed significantly more changes than the non-grafted group. CONCLUSION: Bone density measurements using CBCT might provide an objective assessment of the bone quality as well as the correlation between bone density (Hounsfield scale) and bone grafts in the maxillary molar area.