Palatal Soft Tissue Thickness on Maxillary Posterior Teeth and Its Relation to Palatal Vault Angle Measured by Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

Objective. Analyzing palatal soft tissue thickness in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images and evaluating the relationship between tissue thickness and palatal vault angulation. Methods. Out of 1,737 CBCT images, fifty-six images met the inclusion criteria and were included in this cross-sectional study. The palatal vault angle on the maxillary first molar was measured and divided the images into 3 groups. The soft tissue thickness between the maxillary first premolar and second molar was measured at a distance of 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9 mm from the cementoenamel junction. All the image measurements were performed using CBCT-viewer software. Result. In this study, 56 CBCT images with full permanent maxillary posterior teeth and absence of light scattering were found. The mean age of the patients was 31.59 ± 13.92 years. The moderate and deep palatal vault angle patterns had the greatest and least prevalence, respectively. The average thickness on shallow, moderate, and deep palatal vault groups was 4.02 ± 0.58, 3.75 ± 0.73, and 3.43 ± 0.38 mm, respectively. Furthermore, the mean palatal mucosal thickness was statistically different between the deep and shallow palatal vault angle groups (p