A radiologic evaluation of the incidence and morphology of maxillary sinus septa in Japanese dentate maxillae

Evaluation of the inner aspect of the maxillary sinus is important for the success of a sinus lift procedure. The most common surgical complication is perforation of the Schneiderian membrane, which is thought to occur because of the presence of maxillary sinus septa. Therefore, we retrospectively investigated the incidence and morphology of maxillary sinus septa using multiplanar reformatted computed tomographic (CT) images from dentate Japanese patients. A total of 276 patients and 552 maxillary sinus segments were evaluated. The maxillary sinus septa were divided into four locations: forefront, anterior, middle, and posterior. The heights of the septa were measured at three sites from the deepest point of the sinus floor: lateral, mid-point, and medial. Sinus septa were identified in 191 of 552 (34.6%) maxillary sinus segments obtained from 111 of 276 (40.2%) patients. One unilateral septum was most commonly detected, and the sinus septa were most often located in the middle of the maxillary sinus. The average height of the identified septa was 8.69 ± 4.68 mm (mean ± standard deviation). Multiplanar reformatted CT images can identify maxillary sinus septa in any plane. The height of maxillary sinus septa in the dentate maxillae was higher than detected in previous studies. Appropriate treatment planning using CT images should be considered to prevent surgical complications.