The Basal Bone and Alveolar Process in the Maxillary Anterior Region in Humans: A Cone Beam Computed Tomographic Study

The aim of this study was to describe the basal bone and alveolar process in the maxillary anterior region by assessing patient CBCT scans. Parasagittal reconstructions were made to quantify basal bone and alveolar process dimensions and inclination of teeth in the maxillary anterior region. The CBCT scans of 87 patients and 522 tooth sites were included in this study. The results showed that the surface areas of the basal bone, alveolar process, and palatal triangle varied from 22.1 to 54.1 mm(2), 87.8 to 144.0 mm(2), and 37.1 to 66.0 mm(2), respectively. The basal bone in the canine region had a significantly smaller cross-sectional area than in the incisor region. The alveolar process in the canine region was markedly larger than those of the central and lateral incisor regions. The mean overall thickness of the alveolar facial bone at 3, 5, and 7 mm above the CEJ were 0.6 +/- 0.5 mm, 0.9 +/- 0.5 mm, and 0.7 +/- 0.6 mm, respectively. Additionally, the findings demonstrated that the cross-sectional area of the alveolar process and palatal triangle were greater among men than women. The study identified significant anatomical differences among various tooth regions in the anterior maxilla. The results also demonstrated that the tooth type, but not the tooth inclination or apex location, correlates with the size of the alveolar process.