Resorption of the Peri-Implant Bone in the Lateral Region of the Lower Jaw – The Significance of the Mandibular Canal

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to determine whether early peri-implant bone resorption on 2D panoramic radiographs differs between patients with implants placed close to the mandibular canal and those with implants placed farther from it.

Methods: The study included 30 radiographs. All images were obtained at the 3Dent radiology center using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) with Planmeca Romexis software and digital two-dimensional panoramic imaging with a Planmeca coupled device. On panoramic radiographs, the position of the mandibular canal was measured from the upper border of the alveolar process and from the lower mandibular border in the molar region. The distance from the implant apex to the mandibular canal was then assessed. Group 1 consisted of 15 radiographs with implants placed less than 1 millimeter from the canal, and Group 2 of 15 radiographs with implants placed more than 1 millimeter away. Peri-implant osteolysis was assessed mesially and distally utilizing customized software for two-dimensional image processing and classified as vertical or horizontal.

Main findings: Female predominance was not statistically significant. Horizontal bone resorption was also not significant. The mean canal–implant distance differed considerably between the groups. Vertical mesial resorption diverged significantly, while distal resorption did not. No gender-related differences were found. The average canal distance among all subjects was 1.64 mm. 

Principal conclusion: The hypothesis that implants placed closer than 1 mm to the mandibular canal would show greater early peri-implant bone resorption on 2D radiographs was not confirmed.