Evaluation of the relationship between maxillary sinus floor position and maxillary sinusitis using cone beam computed tomography

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the relationship between the horizontal position of the maxillary sinus floor and the tooth roots on maxillary sinus pathologies using cone beam computed tomography. The patients' age, sex, presence or absence of apical abscesses, and horizontal relationship between the maxillary sinuses and tooth roots were recorded. In total, 228 maxillary sinuses of 114 patients were divided into case and control groups according to whether pathology was present. The horizontal relationship between the tooth roots and the lower wall of the maxillary sinus was categorized into three types. The variables were analyzed using the Chi-square test. Of 42 apical abscesses, 13 (31 %) were present in the control group and 29 (69 %) were present in the case group. This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.003). Each of the 228 maxillary sinuses was classified according to its horizontal relationship to the tooth root. The most frequently seen relationship was Type II, followed by Type I and III, respectively. Although the control and case groups showed equilibrium in the distribution of Type II and III relationships, maxillary sinus pathologies were significantly less common in Type I (p < 0.001). This study shows that positioning of the maxillary sinus toward the buccal side (Type I) poses an obstacle to the spread of odontogenic infection to the sinus and that the presence of apical abscesses is correlated with maxillary sinusitis.