title: The thickness of facial alveolar bone overlying healthy maxillary anterior teeth.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A facial bone (<2 mm) overlying maxillary anterior teeth may be prone to resorptive processes after extraction and immediate implant placement. A thin bone contributes to risk of bone fenestration, dehiscence, and soft-tissue recession. This study measures the distance between the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) and alveolar bone crest and the thickness of facial alveolar bone at points 1 to 5 mm from the bone crest for the six maxillary anterior teeth.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-six tomographic scans (31 males and 35 females; aged 17 to 69 years; mean age: 39.9 years) of intact anterior maxilla were randomly selected and evaluated by two calibrated and independent examiners (MG and TP).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A high variation of CEJ-bone crest (0.8 to 7.2 mm) was detected. A significantly larger CEJ-bone crest was measured in smokers (P <0.05) and patients who were ≥50 years old (P <0.05). The average bone thickness at 3 mm from the CEJ for the maxillary right central incisor was 1.41 mm and for the maxillary left central incisor was 1.45 mm. For the maxillary right and left lateral incisors, the crestal bone thickness averaged 1.73 and 1.59 mm, respectively. For the maxillary right and left canines, the crestal bone thickness averaged 1.47 and 1.60 mm, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study supports the finding of a predominantly thin facial bone overlying the six maxillary anterior teeth. Therefore, it is essential to make informed treatment decisions based on thorough site evaluation before immediate implant placement.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Oral Surgery and Implant-Prosthetic Rehabilitation, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy. marjanghassemian@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Marjan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghassemian
authors.forename: Hessam
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nowzari
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lajolo
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Verdugo
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pirronti
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Addona
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000539:Alveolar Process / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015519:Bone Density; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D000075202:Contraindications; D003481:Cuspid; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult