Association between Age of Menopause and Thickness of Crestal Cortical Bone at Dental Implant Site: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Abstract

Satisfactory host bone quality and quantity promote greater primary stability and better osseointegration, leading to a high success rate in the use of dental implants. However, the increase in life expectancy as a result of medical advancements has led to an aging population, suggesting that osteoporosis may become a problem in clinical dental implant surgery. Notably, relative to the general population, bone insufficiency is more common in women with post-menopausal osteoporosis. The objective of this study was to compare the thickness of the crestal cortical bone at prospective dental implant sites between menopausal and non-menopausal women. Prospective dental implant sites in the jawbone were evaluated in two groups of women: a younger group (<50 years old), with 149 sites in 48 women, and an older group (>50 years old) with 191 sites, in 37 women. The thickness of the crestal cortical bone at the dental implant site was measured based on each patient’s dental cone-beam computed tomography images. For both groups, one-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s post-test were used to assess the correlation between cortical bone thickness and the presence of implants in the four jawbone regions. Student’s t-test was further used to compare differences between the older and younger groups. From the retrospective study results, for both groups, thickness of the crestal cortical bone was the highest in the posterior mandible, followed by anterior mandible, anterior maxilla, and posterior maxilla. Compared with the younger group, the older group had a lower mean thickness of the crestal cortical bone. Among the four regions, however, only in the posterior maxilla was the crestal cortical bone significantly thinner in the older group than in the younger group.

Can Male Patient’s Age Affect the Cortical Bone Thickness of Jawbone for Dental Implant Placement? A Cohort Study

“…In our previous study, we investigated the effect of age on the cortical bone thickness at the dental implant sites in female patients by dividing the patients into two groups based on the cut-off age of 50 years, which is the typical menopause age [ 5 ]. However, in the present study, male patients were not divided into age groups mainly because Type II senile osteoporosis is the most common osteoporosis type among older men, and this type of osteoporosis does not typically develop at a specific age.…”

“…Dental implants are a popular treatment option for the replacement of missing teeth [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Titanium, due to its high biocompatibility, facilitates osseointegration between the dental implant and the jawbone, aiding in the fixation of the implant to the alveolar bone [ 1 , 7 , 8 ].…”

“…Jawbone quality and quantity can influence dental implant osseointegration ability and the failure rate of dental implant surgery [ 4 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. The jawbone is constituted by porous cancellous bone on the inner side and by dense cortical bone on the outer side [ 5 , 6 ]. The literature has revealed a high correlation between the thickness of the cortical bone and the initial stability of dental implants; a high level of initial implant stability is conducive to osseointegration between the cancellous bone and implants [ 3 , 4 , 7 , 9 ].…”

“…Primary osteoporosis can be further categorized into two types: menopausal women experience rapid decline in the bone mass density due to estrogen reduction in Type I, and Type II is senile osteoporosis, which commonly occurs in people 60 years or older [ 11 , 14 ]. With age, vitamin D synthesis and calcium ion absorption into the gastrointestinal tract decrease, which can result in the development of secondary hyperparathyroidism, increase osteoclast activity, and accelerate bone loss [ 5 , 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

“…Additionally, the cortical bone of the jaw contributes greatly to the initial stability of implants. Several studies have discussed the effect of cortical bone thickness at the sites of dental implants on the efficacy of dental implant surgery in patients with missing teeth [ 5 , 6 , 23 , 24 ]. In our previous study, we revealed the effect of perimenopause on the cortical bone thickness at the sites of dental implants [ 24 ].…”