Defense Date

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Dentistry

Department

Dentistry

First Advisor

Aniket Jadhav

Second Advisor

Caroline Carrico

Third Advisor

Thomas Waldrop

Abstract

Objectives: The primary goal of this retrospective analysis is to analyze the morphologic changes that occur following extraction in regards to sinus pneumatization.

Methods: The patient population was selected from the VCU School of Dentistry Graduate Periodontics Department. Cone Beam Computed Tomography scans (CBCT) was obtained from patients that had a posterior tooth extracted. A horizontal tangent line was drawn to the inferior border of the nasal cavity, acting as a constant reference point for measuring the extent of maxillary sinus pneumatization. Radiographic measurements were performed from a horizontal line at this fixed anatomical marker to the deepest level of the maxillary sinus pneumatization at the second premolar, first molar, or second molar sites.

Results: Results showed that the edentulous site had a statistically significantly greater amount of pneumatization of 1.7mm. There were no significant differences between tooth sites. There was no significant difference between preserved versus nonpreserved sites, but there was a trend towards less pneumatization at preserved sites (0.3mm) vs nonpreserved sites (1.8mm).

Conclusion: This preliminary study showed a significant difference between sinus pneumatization at edentulous sites compared to the contralateral sites. The extraction of a posterior teeth displayed a significant increase in sinus pneumatization compared to the contralateral dentate site of 1.7 mm. Ridge preservation at time of extraction showed a trend towards less sinus pneumatization of 0.3mm vs 1.8mm at non-preserved sites. This shows preliminary data that ridge preservation could help mitigate dimension changes of sinus pneumatization following extractions as well.

Rights

©Catherine Ramundo

Is Part Of

VCU University Archives

Is Part Of

VCU Theses and Dissertations

Date of Submission

5-9-2024

Available for download on Saturday, May 09, 2026

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