Comparison of digitized radiographic alveolar features with age

The purpose of the present study was to use digital profile image features and digital image analysis of fixed-dimension bone regions, extracted from standardized periapical radiographs of the maxilla, to determine whether differences exist in alveolar bone of younger women (mean age : 59.23 ± 7.34 years) and just menopaused women (mean age : 59.23 ± 7.34), Periapical films were used from two groups of 20 randomly selected women. None of the subjects had a remarkable medical history. To simplify protocol, we chose one interproximal bone area between the maxillary right canine and lateral incisor for study. Each film was digitized into a 1312 X 1024 pixel X 8 bit depth matrix by means of a Nikon 35 mm film scanner (LS-3510AF, Japan) with fixed gain and internal dark current correction to maintain constant illumination. The scanner was interfaced to a Macintosh LC III computer(Apple Computer, Charlotte, N.C.). Area and profile orientation were selected with a NIMH Image 1.37 (NIH Research Services Brach, Bethesda, Md.). Histogram features were extracted form each profile and area. The results of this study indicate that mean pixel intensities didn't differ significantly between two groups and there was a high correlation-coefficient between digitized radiographic profile features and area features.