W. Becker et al., ALVEOLAR BONE ANATOMIC PROFILES AS MEASURED FROM DRY SKULLS - CLINICAL RAMIFICATIONS, Journal of clinical periodontology, 24(10), 1997, pp. 727-731
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship of alveolar
bone morphology to tooth shape and form. 111 dry skulls were evaluate
d at Baylor College of Dentistry (Dallas, Texas). The skulls were arbi
trarily divided into flat, scalloped and pronounced scalloped anatomic
profiles according to alveolar bone anatomy. The number of buccal deh
iscences and fenestrations was determined for each skull according to
their anatomic morphotype. 10 skulls from each group were selected for
bone height measurements. The measurements were made with a periodont
al probe and ruler from the height of the interproximal bone to the bu
ccal alveolar crest. Kodachrome slides were used to measure mesial-dis
tal tooth width and length from ten skulls from each anatomic category
. The average number of fenestrations for each group was 3.5. The mean
number of dehiscences for flat and scalloped skulls was 0.5. The aver
age number of dehiscences for pronounced scalloped was 1.2. There were
no significant differences when the groups were compared. The mean di
stance from the height of the interdental bone to the alveolar crest w
as statistically significant when the groups were compared (flat 2.1 m
m, scalloped 2.8 mm, pronounced 4.1mm) (Tukey, p=0.05). There were no
significant differences when tooth shapes were compared with bone anat
omy. Pronounced scalloped anatomic profiles were slightly narrower whe
n compared with the other groups. The observations reported have treat
ment ramifications when patients with scalloped or pronounced scallope
d morphotypes are being considered for dental implant placement.