Radiological evaluation of maxillary sinus anatomy: A cross-sectional study of 300 patients.

Objective The aim of the present study was to evaluate the principal anatomical characteristics of the maxillary sinus using Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in order to facilitate prevention of intra- and post-operative complications. Materials and methods Three hundred CBCT scans from patients undergoing implant surgery were analysed. The following anatomical structures were evaluated: (1) Residual ridge height (RRH) and width (RRW); (2) Ridge bone density (BD); (3) Maxillary sinus angle (MSA); (4) Maxillary sinus lateral wall thickness (LWT); (5) Schneiderian membrane thickness (MT); (6) Maxillary sinus septa (SS); (7) Posterior superior alveolar artery (PSAA).‘ Results Mean patient age was 59.5 ± 13.6. Mean RRH at upper second premolar (2PM) was 8.66 ± 3.95 mm, 4.90 ± 2.28 mm at first molar (1 M), and 5.26 ± 2.13 mm at second molar (2 M). Mean RRW was 6.72 ± 2.69 mm at 2PM, 6.87 ± 2.65 mm at 1 M and 7.09 ± 2.80 mm at 2 M. Bone density was 330.93 ± 211.02 Hounsfield Units (HU) at first molar position and MSA was 73.39 ± 15.23°. LWT was 1.95 ± 0.98 mm. Mean Schneider Membrane thickness (MT) was 1.82 ± 1.59 mm; MT was ≤3 mm in 72.9% of patients and >3 mm in 27.10%. 20.56% of patients presented bucco-palatal oriented septa with a mean height of 13.11 ± 3.82 mm. PSAA was observed in 48.60% and mean distance to the top of the ridge was 13.15 ± 3.71 mm, and was mostly observed inside the sinus (53.85%). Conclusions CBCT scanning has been shown to be a useful tool for evaluating maxillary sinus anatomical variations. CBCT should be considered the gold standard when evaluating the maxillary sinus area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]