IP International Journal of Maxillofacial Imaging 2020;6(3):79–82 Content available at: https://www.ipinnovative.com/open-access-journals IP International Journal of Maxillofacial Imaging Journal homepage: www.ipinnovative.com Original Research Article Assessment of efficacy of digital panoramic radiography as a diagnostic tool for evaluating general bone density N Kannan 1, *, Rakesh Kumar Manne 1 , Somisetty Mahalakshmi Mounika 1 , Prathi Venkata Sarath 1 , Swapna Sridevi 1 , Sravya 1 , P Prathima 1 1 Dept. of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Narayana Dental College and Hospital, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 30-05-2020 Accepted 01-07-2020 Available online 07-10-2020 Keywords: Digital panoramic radiography Bone density ABSTRACT Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of digital panoramic radiography as a diagnostic tool in detecting general skeletal bone density and to compare its accuracy with a DEXA scan. Methodology: Seventy persons of age 50 years and above, scheduled to undergo DEXA scan and willing to participate in this study, were taken for panoramic radiography. Densitometric values were compared between DEXA scan and digital panoramic radiography, and collected data were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: Statistical significant difference (P-value < 0.05) was found between normal and osteopenic/osteoporotic persons. No statistically significant difference (P-value > 0.05) in the values was observed between DEXA scan and digital panoramic radiography groups. Conclusion: Based on the outcomes, it was concluded that general skeletal bone density could be favourably assessed in the mandible using densitometric analysis with digital panoramic radiography. © 2020 Published by Innovative Publication. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) 1. Introduction Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by decreased bone density and microstructurally weakened bone which increases the risk of their fracture. 1 Elderly patients with osteoporosis are therefore likely to have a reduced quality of life. 2 It is an easily preventable and treatable disease. Therefore sufficient importance has to be given for early identification and remediation of this condition. 3 Among various types of diagnostic methods, DEXA (Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry), is considered as the gold standard fordetermining osteoporosis but the high cost associated with this advanced imaging technique and lack of availability of this equipment in most diagnostic centers limits its use by the general public. 4 Various authors have suggested the possibility of the use of panoramic radiographs as an effective alternative for assessment of * Corresponding author. E-mail address: dentkan1@gmail.com (N. Kannan). osteoporosis by evaluation of jaw bone density. 5 Panoramic radiographs are widely used to detect dental diseases and conditions. It is a cost-effective technique when compared to the other advanced imaging modalities. 6 There are various studies done on detecting osteoporosis by panoramic radiographs. 7 Till date, no studies have been carried out on comparing the DEXA scan with panoramic radiographs for assessing jaw bone density. The present study was done to evaluate the effectiveness of panoramic radiograph in the diagnosis of osteoporosis and to compare its efficacy with the traditional DEXA scan method. 2. Materials and Methods The study has been carried out in the department of oral medicine and radiology under the collaboration with department of endocrinology. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethical Committee (IEC/NDCH/2019/P-16), and the study period was from December 2019 to February 2020. https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijmi.2020.020 2581-382X/© 2020 Innovative Publication, All rights reserved. 79