Identifying dental panoramic radiograph features for the screening of low bone mass in postmenopausal women

A retrospective cohort study was performed to evaluate the use of panoramic radiographs as a screening tool for low bone mass in postmenopausal women. Female subjects aged >= 50 years were included. The predictor variables were gonial angle, antegonial angle, mandibular cortical bone integrity, periodontal disease status, and number of remaining teeth. The primary outcome variable was bone mineral density status. Descriptive and logistic regression statistics were computed; P < 0.05 was considered significant. The sample was composed of 273 subjects, aged 50-89 years. Visual assessment of mandibular cortical bone integrity demonstrated a statistically significant correlation with low bone mass diagnosis on univariate logistic regression (P = 0.019), but lost significance on multivariate analysis with age, body mass index, and number of remaining teeth (P = 0.6). A visual estimation of the mandibular cortical bone integrity from panoramic radiographs may be useful for identifying postmenopausal women at high risk for osteoporosis.