Morphometric Analysis of Maxillary Sinus Floor and Alveolar Process in Korean

Yang, Hae Min; Yu, Sun Kyoung; Lee, Myoung Hwa; Kim, Seong Hoon; Kim, Seung Hee; Kim, Heung Joong

Abstract

The implant placement and sinus floor elevation on maxillae have required the accurate understanding of maxillary sinus floor and alveolar process. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the maxillary sinus floor morphology and the correlation between maxillary sinus floor and alveolar process in Korean. Twenty-nine cadaveric maxillae with normal teeth were used, with age at death ranging from 40 to 90 years (mean: 59.9 years). After the maxilla was cut above the nasal cavity floor, it was sectioned at midline of the tooth from 1st premolar to 2nd molar by parallel to long axis of the tooth. The specimens were scanned using the Scanner (HP Scanjet G4050). The scan image was measured using Adobe Photoshop CS3 at the 0.01 mm. Mean, SD, and correlation coefficient (r) were took using SPSS. The width of maxillary sinus floor at nasal cavity floor level was 7.87+/-3.04 mm at 1st premolar (P1), 11.05+/-4.40 mm at 2nd premolar (P2), 13.21+/-4.78 mm at 1st molar (M1), and 12.47+/-4.32 mm at 2nd molar (M2). The depth of maxillary sinus floor at nasal cavity floor level was -3.74+/-4.57 mm, -4.77+/-4.80 mm, -4.84+/-4.69 mm, and -4.19+/-6.24 mm at P1, P2, M1, and M2, respectively. The height of alveolar process bone was 19.02+/-3.36 mm, 15.71+/-4.44 mm, 13.59+/-3.22 mm, and 12.50+/-2.99 mm at P1, P2, M1, and M2, respectively. The correlation coefficient (r) between the width of maxillary sinus floor and the height of alveolar process was 0.342, 0.631, 0.602, and 0.543 at P1, P2, M1, and M2, respectively, which were lack of correlations. The correlation coefficient (r) between the depth of maxillary sinus floor and the height of alveolar process was 0.808, 0.899, 0.789, and 0.805 at P1, P2, M1, and M2, respectively. It represented that the deeper the depth of maxillary sinus floor, the lower the height of alveolar process was. In conclusion, the maxillary sinus floor in Korean was the deepest and the widest at M1, and the height of alveolar process was the lowest at M2. This result provided useful anatomic information about maxillary sinus floor for the implant placement and sinus floor elevation.