Age affects alveolar bone height and width in patients undergoing dental implant treatment: Findings from computed tomography imaging

Dental implants may help improve the general health and quality of life in older adults with tooth loss. Accurate assessment of the alveolar bone is key to implant treatment. Several studies have examined the value of jaw morphology diagnostic imaging; however, few studies have evaluated age-related changes in alveolar bone height and width using computed tomography (CT) scanning. The purpose of this study was to assess age-related changes in alveolar bone height and width using CT scans of patients undergoing dental implant treatment. We analyzed CT scans of 1960 sites in 655 cases (225 men, 430women; age rage, 20-85 years; mean age, 60.96 years) obtained from June 2016 to December 2018. The mean alveolar bone height and width were the outcomes of interest. The participants were dichotomized by age into groups of 20-64 and 65-85 years. Alveolar bone height and width were classified into six groups by site; the values were examined by age. Analyses were performed with the Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman correlation coefficients. Statistical significance was established at P<0.05. The height of the upper anterior (P<0.001), upper premolar (P<0.001), upper molar (P<0.01), lower anterior (P<0.01), lower premolar (P<0.05), and lower molar (P<0.01) sites, and the width of the upper anterior (P<0.01), upper premolar (P<0.01), and upper molar (P<0.01) sites in the alveolar bone were significantly associated with age. The present findings suggest that the decline in upper alveolar bone height and width and lower alveolar bone height is associated with aging in the present cohort. These findings suggest that older people may require implant treatment that is predicated on bone grafting.