Accuracy of vertical height measurements on direct digital panoramic radiographs using posterior mandibular implants and metal balls as reference objects.

OBJECTIVES: Conventional panoramic radiography, a widely used radiographic examination tool in implant treatment planning, allows evaluation of the available bone height before inserting posterior mandibular implants. Image distortion and vertical magnification due to projection geometry is well described for rotational panoramic radiographs. To assess the accuracy of vertical height measurements on direct digital panoramic radiographs, implants and metal balls positioned in the posterior mandible were used as radio-opaque reference objects. The reproducibility of the measuring method was assessed by the inter- and intraobserver agreements. METHODS: Direct digital panoramic radiographs, performed using a Kodak 8000C (Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY), of 17 partially edentulous patients (10 females, 7 males, mean age 65 years) were selected from an X-ray database gathered during routine clinical evaluation of implant sites. Proprietary software and a mouse-driven calliper were used to measure the radiological length of 25 implants and 18 metal reference balls, positioned in mandibular posterior segments. The distortion ratio (DR) was calculated by dividing the radiological implant length by the implant's real length and the radiological ball height by the ball's real height. RESULTS: Mean vertical DR was 0.99 for implants and 0.97 for balls, and was unrelated to mandibular sites, side, age, gender or observer. Inter- and intraobserver agreements were acceptable for both reference objects. CONCLUSIONS: Vertical measurements had acceptable accuracy and reproducibility when a software-based calibrated measurement tool was used, confirming that digital panoramic radiography can be reliably utilized to determine the pre-operative implant length in premolar and molar mandibular segments.

[Osteonecrosis of the jaws and bisphosphonates]. / Ostéonécrose des maxillaires et bisphosphonates.

Widely prescribed, bisphosphonates inhibit bone resorption. They are not metabolised and have long half-lives. Two cases of osteonecrosis of the jaws have recently been attributed to bisphosphonates at the University Hospital of Geneva. The recent literature reveals more than a hundred similar cases throughout the world. Bone exposure appears spontaneously or after dental care. Treatment of the osteonecrosis is controversial and cure very difficult. This pathology is usually seen in patients on chemotherapy, steroids and i.v. bisphosphonates, but is sometimes seen with low-dose p.o. bisphosphonates. In view of the strong association between bisphosphonate therapy and osteonecrosis of the jaw, specialists have recommended dental and oral evaluation during bisphosphonate therapy as well as for several years after drug discontinuation.

[Bisphosphonates-related jaw osteonecrosis]. / Ostéonécrose des maxillaires chez des patients traités par bisphosphonates.

INTRODUCTION: The latest generations of bisphosphonates constitute a major advance in the management of disorders including Paget's disease, osteoporosis, and osteolytic bone tumors. Recent reports describe numerous cases of osteonecrosis of the jaw in patients treated with bisphosphonates. Some of these reports mention predisposing factors, including surgical procedures, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. CASES: In the past 12 months, we have observed and treated 9 cases of maxillary osteonecrosis, which we present summarily. DISCUSSION: Some of our cases (3 of 9), like many of those described in literature, do not present predisposing factors. The osteonecrosis may thus be due mainly to the effect of bisphosphonates that, by blocking bone remodeling, may cause excessive bone mineralization. If this hypothesis is confirmed, these cases of osteonecrosis may be due to excess doses. Better dose adjustment should thus help prevent this complication.