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Furcation area and root proximity of molars as a risk indicator of periodontitis: a cone‑beam computed tomography-based study

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Abstract

Objectives

This study assessed the root proximity in molars and the furcation area (FA) in the first root separation point (RSP) using cone‑beam computed tomography (CBCT) and evaluated the association between the furcation area of molars and periodontal status of the patients.

Methods

A total of 264 molar teeth in 66 participants were included in the study. The control group consisted of 110 molar teeth of participants, and 154 molar teeth were included in periodontitis group, which consisted of only stage II and III periodontitis patients. FA, RSP, and root proximities were measured in axial slices, and bone resorption rates were measured in sagittal slices.

Results

Both maxillary and mandibular molar groups had significantly less FA in periodontitis group than in controls (p < 0.005), and there were significant relationships between the degree of bone resorption in molars and FA and furcation grades (p < 0.001). According to regression analysis, the risk of periodontitis increased by 1.011 times as total FA decreased (p < 0.001), and periodontitis risk of maxillary molar was 1.693 times higher than mandibular molars but not found to be statistically significant (p = 0.152). When assessing the root proximity between molar teeth, maxillary molars showed significantly higher root proximity in CEJs than mandibular molars in both periodontitis and control groups (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

The results indicate that the association between FA and the degree of bone resorption and root proximity of maxillary molars might be considered as a risk indicator for bone resorption in molars and might play a role during disease progression.

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Data availability

Data is available upon request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are especially grateful to Ulku Baser, Professor of the Periodontology Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Istanbul University, for her important contributions.

Funding

No funding was received. The work was supported by the Department of Periodontology, Dentistry Faculty of Istanbul Okan University in Istanbul, Turkey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Istanbul Okan University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Gokce Aykol-Sahin

  2. Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Belde Arsan

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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gokce Aykol-Sahin.

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Conflict of ınterest

Dr. Gokce Aykol Sahin declares that she has no conflict of interest. Dr. Belde Arsan declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. For the analysis of CBCT images, this retrospective case–control study protocol was approved by the Ethical committee of Istanbul Okan University (Approval Number: 161-7).

Informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study. Not applicable for this type of study.

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Aykol-Sahin, G., Arsan, B. Furcation area and root proximity of molars as a risk indicator of periodontitis: a cone‑beam computed tomography-based study. Oral Radiol 39, 802–810 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11282-023-00706-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11282-023-00706-6

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