Anatomical study of the pyramidal process of the palatine bone in relation to implant placement in the posterior maxilla

Abstract

The placement of dental implants in the molar region of the maxilla is often difficult because of insufficient bone volume and the inferior bone quality. In order to avoid these limitations, the pillar of bone, which is composed of the maxillary tuberosity, the pyramidal process of the palatine bone and the pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone, was introduced for implant placement. In fact, the pyramidal process is the posterior structure where implants are placed but until now, there is no available data of the size or shape of the pyramidal process. Therefore, we measured the height, anteroposterior distance and mediolateral distance of the pyramidal process and observed the shape of lateral and posterior surfaces of the pyramidal process of 54 Korean edentulous dry skulls in this study. The height was 13·1 mm (male: 13·6 mm, female: 12·4 mm). The anteroposterior distance was 6·5 mm (male: 6·7 mm, female: 6·1 mm). The mediolateral distance was 9·5 mm (male: 9·9 mm, female: 9·0 mm). The most common type was the right-angled triangle in the lateral surface (44·4%) and in the posterior surface (66·7%). There was no statistical significance between the male and the female in all items (P > 0·05). These results provide anatomical features in relation to placement of dental implants in the molar region of the maxilla and would be useful in treatment planning of partially or completely edentulous patients.