The Utility of Radiomorphometric Mandibular Indices on Cone Beam Computer Tomography in the Assessment of Bone Mass in Postmenopausal Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The present study examined the potential use of computed tomography radiomorphometric mandibular indices on cone beam CT (CBCT) for the assessment of bone density in postmenopausal women with low bone mass. Methods: We included 104 postmenopausal women who received dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) using a DXA scanner and mental foramen (MF) region CBCT using a NewTom VGi EVO Cone Beam 3D system. We assessed the relationships between the following DXA parameters: lumbar, femoral neck, and total hip T-scores, bone mineral density (BMD), lumbar trabecular bone score (TBS), and mandibular inferior cortical bone thickness at 4 sites. The cross-sectional images were obtained, as follows: anterior (A)—10 mm anterior from the MF; molar (M)—10 mm posterior from the MF; posterior (P)—25 mm posterior from the MF; symphysis (S)—equidistant from the centers of the right and left MF. Results: We found that A and M indices showed statistically significant moderate positive correlations with lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total hip BMD, as well as TBS. The P index demonstrated moderate positive correlations with these measurements, while the S index did not show significant correlations with BMD or TBS in postmenopausal women. Conclusions: These findings support the potential usefulness of CBCT-derived radiomorphometric mandibular indices for non-invasive bone health assessment in clinical practice.