The application of ultrasonic densitometry for assessing the state of periodontal bone tissue in persons with physiological occlusion (experimental clinical study)

Aim. To improve the methods for assessing the state of the jaw bone tissue based on the use of ultrasonic shadow densitometry.  

Materials and methods. As a research method, there was used the latest development – velocimetric ultrasonic densitometer with an original software, ultrasonic sensors and an electronic positioner. The material of the experimental study were the macropreparations of the animal species "Domestic Pig", where the spongy and cortical substance of the bone tissue was isolated, and the speed of passage of ultrasound (SUS) through them was estimated. In the clinical part of the study, ultrasound diagnostics of bone tissue was performed in 38 people with physiological occlusion in various anatomical and functional areas.  

Results. Part of the study showed that the maximum SUS was observed through the cortical bone tissue from the oral side, and the minimum – through the spongy substance. In the clinical part of the study, the registration of SUS measurements through the bone tissue revealed statistically significant differences and showed that the highest bone density was determined in the anterior left and right parts of the mandible. The lowest bone density was determined in the lateral left and right sections of the upper jaw.  

Conclusions. Based on the conducted studies, there was developed a diagnostic map of the ultrasonic density of the periodontal bone tissue, which can complement the protocol of the patient's dental examination. The obtained results of SUS passage through the bone tissue in various anatomical and functional zones of the upper and lower jaws in examined persons with physiological occlusion can be taken as normalized indicators in assessing bone density. Ultrasound densitometry has proven to be a safe, non-invasive method that can be used to study jaw bone density in vivo. 

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