Cortical bone thickness in dentate and edentulous human cadavers.
BACKGROUND
A critical component of treatment planning in dental implant therapy is the amount of available bone. Thick cortical plates have been the primary way to achieve primary implant stability. However, information about cortical bone thickness in various regions of the maxilla and mandible is largely missing. Hence, it was the purpose of this cadaver study to determine an average cortical bone thickness in different tooth locations.


METHODS
To determine the average thickness of buccal and lingual plates, 28 cadaver heads (68% male and 32% female) with an average age of 73.1 years were measured at various locations correlating to molar (M), premolar (PM), and anterior (A) regions. Edentulous and dentate regions also were recorded.


RESULTS
Average buccal cortical thicknesses were 1.69 mm (M), 1.43 mm (PM), and 1.04 mm (A) in the edentulous maxilla; 2.06 mm (M), 1.78 mm (PM), and 1.36 mm (A) in the edentulous mandible; 2.23 mm (M), 1.62 mm (PM), and 1.59 mm (A) in the dentate maxilla; and 1.98 mm (M), 1.20 mm (PM), and 0.99 mm (A) in the dentate mandible. Average lingual cortical thicknesses were 2.06 mm (M), 1.60 mm (PM), and 1.36 mm (A) in the edentulous maxilla; 2.39 mm (M), 1.88 mm (PM), and 1.66 mm (A) in the edentulous mandible; 2.35 mm (M), 2.0 mm (PM), and 1.95 mm (A) in the dentate maxilla; and 2.51 mm (M), 1.92 mm (PM), and 1.24 mm (A) in the dentate mandible.


CONCLUSIONS
The average cortical thickness of the buccal plates ranged from 1.0 to 2.1 mm in the edentulous maxilla and mandible, with the thinnest area in the anterior maxilla and the thickest area in the posterior mandible. The buccal plate of the dentate maxilla and mandible ranged from 1.6 to 2.2 mm in thickness, with the thinnest area in the lower anterior region and the thickest area in the upper posterior region.
Katranji
Amar
A
Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1078, USA.
Misch
Kelly
K
Wang
Hom-Lay
HL
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000539:Alveolar Process / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D000718:Anatomy, Regional; D000886:Anthropometry; D015519:Bone Density; D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D008437:Maxilla / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged