COMPARISON OF DIGITIZED RADIOGRAPHIC ALVEOLAR FEATURES BETWEEN 20-YEAR-OLD AND 70-YEAR-OLD WOMEN - A PRELIMINARY-STUDY

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a difference exists in four digital image features, extracted from standardized periapical radiographs of the maxillary alveolar bone, between younger and older women. These features included mean pixel intensity, T(x)BAR; pixel intensity variance, var I(x); mean absolute Fourier transform coefficient, \F(u)BAR\; and mean spatial first moment of the absolute Fourier coefficients, Ml. The interproximal bone between the maxillary canine and lateral incisor was analyzed in two groups of 10 younger and older women with mean ages of 24 and 74 years, respectively. I(x)BAR was significantly less in the 70-year-old group than in the 20-year-old group (p = 0.01), as were \F(u)BAR\ (p < 0.05) and M1 (p < 0.01). Var I(x) tended to be significantly less in the 70-year-old group (p = 0.06). We conclude that in women a measurable diminution in the magnitude of these four bony features comes with age.