Radiographical Diagnostic Evaluation of Mandibular Cortical Index Classification and Mandibular Cortical Width in Female Patients Prescribed Antiosteoporosis Medication: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Osteoporosis is often detected late and becomes severe because of a lack of subjective symptoms. Digital panoramic radiography (DPR) has been reported to be useful for osteoporosis screening based on the morphological classification of the mandibular inferior cortex. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the mandibular cortical index (MCI) in the diagnosis of osteoporosis in a group of patients who were and were not using antiosteoporosis medication (AOM). Three hundred and fifty female patients aged 40 years or older who had DPR imaging performed during a 6-year period from December 2015 to February 2022 met the selection criteria. Two examiners recorded mandibular cortical width and MCI from the images. These results were statistically examined together with the patients' demographic data. Forty-nine patients were using AOM (13 nonbisphosphonate/denosumab and 36 bisphosphonate/denosumab). MCI type 3 was the most common in the AOM group. In the MCI classification, DPR imaging among the AOM group was more sensitive (0.95) than that of the control group. This method of estimating osteoporosis based on MCI classification using DPR images has high sensitivity, especially in patients using AOM, suggesting that this method is useful as a screening test.