Validating cone-beam computed tomography for peri-implant bone morphometric analysis

摘要

Cone-beam computed tomography(CBCT) has been recently used to analyse trabecular bone structure around dental implants. To validate the use of CBCT for three-dimensional(3D) peri-implant trabecular bone morphometry by comparing it to two-dimensional(2D) histology, 36 alveolar bone samples(with implants n527 vs. without implants n59) from six mongrel dogs, were scanned ex vivo using a high-resolution(80 mm)CBCT. After scanning, all samples were decalcified and then sectioned into thin histological sections(,6 mm)to obtain high contrast 2D images. By using CTAn imaging software, bone morphometric parameters including trabecular number(Tb.N), thickness(Tb.Th), separation(Tb.Sp) and bone volume fraction(BV/TV) were examined on both CBCT and corresponding histological images. Higher Tb.Th and Tb.Sp, lower BV/TV and Tb.N were found on CBCT images(P,0.001). Both measurements on the peri-implant trabecular bone structure showed moderate to high correlation(r50.65–0.85). The Bland–Altman plots showed strongest agreement for Tb.Th followed by Tb.Sp, Tb.N and BV/TV, regardless of the presence of implants. The current findings support the assumption that peri-implant trabecular bone structures based on high-resolution CBCT measurements are representative for the underlying histological bone characteristics, indicating a potential clinical diagnostic use of CBCT-based peri-implant bone morphometric characterisation.