Quantitative Ultrasound of the Mandible as a Novel Screening Approach for Osteoporosis

Abstract

This study used an axial transmission quantitative ultrasound (QUS) device to assess mandibular bone strength. The aim of the study was first to establish the precision and repeatability of the axial transmission QUS measurement for a range of mandibular anatomic sites, and second to investigate the ability of the modality to differentiate between osteoporotic subjects and a control group. Three groups of adult Caucasian women were recruited: (1) healthy premenopausal women (n = 26), (2) healthy postmenopausal women (n = 48), and (3) women with osteoporosis (n = 53). Subjects were excluded from groups 1 and 2 if they had any pre-existing bone conditions. Speed of sound (SOS) measurements were taken from the mandible using an OmniSense multisite QUS device. Group 3 had dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans of the lumbar spine and femur. The most suitable site on the mandible was determined by repeat SOS measurements in 10 healthy premenopausal subjects, at 5 different sites. The parasymphysis site had the lowest root mean squared coefficient of variation at 0.74%, and was chosen as the most suitable site for mandibular SOS measurements. Group 1 and group 2 had significantly higher mean SOS measurements than the osteoporotic subjects (group 3), with means of 3683 m/s (210), 3514 m/s (221), and 3312 m/s (264), respectively. A 1-way analysis of variance confirmed a statistically significant difference between mean SOS measurements from the 3 groups (p < 0.0001). Axial transmission QUS of the mandible can differentiate between subjects with osteoporosis and a healthy control group, and shows potential for use as a screening tool for osteoporosis.

Keywords: Axial transmission quantitative ultrasound; dentistry; mandible; osteoporosis.