Mandibular Bone Remodelling Changes on Digital Panoramic Radiograph

Bone remodeling is a continuous and complex process which occurs throughout life. During an individual`s life, the morphologic changes undergone by the mandible are thought to be influenced by dental status and age of the patient.Assessment of mandibular bone mineral density may be considered useful or even necessary, in many clinical situations such as oral and systemic diseases, implant planning, therapeutic evaluation and follow-up, for comparative density studies between different types of bones, osteoporosis studies, orthodontics and even for studying non-functional oral habits.The digital orthopantomogram is inexpensive, easily available, and used routinely in the complete dental profiling of the patient visiting for dental treatment. With this study we hypothesize that there may be a correlation between the mandibular bone remodelling changes and calcaneal bone mineral density and thus these parameters may be used as an inexpensive alternative screening method to assess the bone mineral density and identify individuals at risk for osteoporosis and fractures, and also for dental treatment planning.