DETECTING OSTEOPOROSIS USING DENTAL RADIOGRAPHS - A COMPARISON OF 4 METHODS

The authors evaluated dental radiographs for signs of osteoporosis usi ng four methods: fractal dimension, microdensitometry, pixel intensity and panoramic analysis of cortical thickness. The efficacy of these m ethods also was compared against three standard bone density measurmen t techniques used to diagnose osteoporosis in bones other than the jaw s: quantitative computed tomography and single- and dual-photon absorp tiometry. Pixel intensity was significantly more effective than the ot her dental methods at distinguishing between radiographs from the oste oporotic group and the control group, although fractal dimension and m icrodensitometry methods also were effective.