January 1999, Volume 28, Issue 1, Pages 20 – 25

Original Article

Evaluation of bone density in the mandibles of young Australian adults of Mongoloid and Caucasoid descent RGK Ong1,3 & MR Stevenson2 1Department of Oral Radiology, Perth Dental Hospital, Western Australia     2Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia     3Author for correspondence: Department of Oral Radiology, Perth Dental Hospital, Goderich Street, Perth 6000, Western Australia

Keywords

radiography, panoramic;   bone density;   Mongoloid race;   Caucasoid race

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the bone density in the mandibles of young Australian adults of Mongoloid and Caucasoid descent. Methods: A panoramic radiograph (Orthophos C, Siemens AG, Bensheim, Germany) was obtained of 79 dental students from the School of Oral Health Sciences, The University of Western Australia. Exposure factors were varied for males and females. The films were automatically processed in a single batch and the optical density measured blindly at two locations by two examiners. The optical density was compared by race and sex to detect bone density differences. Individual lifestyle habits (exercise, alcohol consumption, smoking and diet) was recorded in a self-administered questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the effects of physical, environmental and medical characteristics. Results: The Mongoloid subjects were found to have approximately 20% higher bone density at the angle of mandible than Caucasoid subjects (P=0.0094 for males, P=0.0004 for females). Conclusion: Race is the most important variable associated with bone density. Mongoloid subjects should be given a higher exposure for panoramic radiography than that normally used for Caucasoid subjects.

Received 6 April 1998; Accepted 13 September 1998

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