Fractal analysis evaluation of regenerated bone in grafted and graftless maxillary sinus elevation procedures.

Objective: The aim of this study was to quantitatively calculate and compare the changes in regenerated bone around the implant in graftless and grafted sinus elevation procedures using fractal dimension analysis, and to provide an additional criterion for clinical preference.

Method and materials: The study included 65 patients (29 graftless and 36 grafted) at the Faculty of Dentistry in Van Yüzüncü Yıl University. Graftless and grafted sinus elevation techniques were compared in terms of fractal dimension and bone density on panoramic radiographs. The Student t test was used to compare the mean values of fractal dimension and bone density in patients with graftless and grafted sinus elevation. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlation of fractal dimension and bone density data with age. Statistical significance was accepted at P .05.

Results: The fractal dimension and bone density were not statistically significant between the two groups (P > .05). The fractal dimension and bone density parameters were higher in men for both sinus elevation techniques.

Conclusions: The results showed that the graftless and grafted sinus elevation techniques had similar fractal dimension and bone density outcomes. Therefore, it was concluded that the graftless technique is preferable for maxillary sinus elevation because of its relatively simple technique.