title: Assessment of trabecular bone changes around endosseous implants using image analysis techniques: A preliminary study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to assess the trabecular bone changes that occurred around functional endosseous dental implants by means of radiographic image analysis techniques.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immediate preoperative and postoperative periapical radiographs of de-identified implant patients at the University Dental Hospital of Manchester were retrieved, screened for specific inclusion criteria, digitized, and quantified for structural elements of the trabecular bone around the endosseous implants, by using image analysis techniques. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. P values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 12 implants from 11 patients were selected for the study, and 26 regions of interest were obtained. There was a significant increase in the bone area in terms of the mean distance between nodes (p=0.006) and a significant decrease in the marrow area in terms of the bone area (p=0.006) and the length of marrow spaces (p=0.032).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It appeared that the bone around the implant underwent remodeling that resulted in a net increase in bone after implant placement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Benghazi University College of Dentistry, Benghazi, Libya.
authors.forename: Mervet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El Zuki
authors.affiliation: Oral Diagnosis and Polyclinics, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Galal
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Omami
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Radiology, University Dental Hospital of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Horner
keywords: Bone and Bones; Computer-Assisted Image Analysis; Dental Implants