Relationship between stylohyoid ligament calcification and systemic osteoporosis by CBCT and panoramic radiography

The purpose of this study was to use panoramic radiography and cone beam computed tomography images to investigate (1) the accuracy of these methods concerning osteopenia and osteoporosis diagnosis, and (2) the correlation between presence of stylohyoid ligament calcification and osteopenia and osteoporosis. A hundred seventy-one images from digital archive were enrolled in this study. All panoramic radiography and cone beam computed tomography images were obtained using the Veraviewepocs 3D system and observed at i-VIEW-3DX software. For osteopenia and osteoporosis diagnosis, the mandibular cortex was assessed.  Presence of stylohyoid ligament calcification was also assessed and mineralization in all parts of the stylohyoid complex was considered. All recorded data were referred to statistical analysis and the significance level was set at 5%. There is an agreement between the imaging modalities for osteopenia and osteoporosis diagnosis, since the rate of disagreement is 21.6%. The results confirmed the osteoporosis diagnosis in elderly women and the correlation between osteopenia and osteoporosis diagnosis and the presence of stylohyoid ligament calcification ( p 0.06). The present study suggests that (1) panoramic radiography and computed tomography images are accurate enough for osteopenia and osteoporosis diagnosis with low disagreement rate between methods and (2) there is a significant correlation between presence of stylohyoid ligament calcification and osteopenia and osteoporosis diagnosis in elderly women.