Three dimensional evaluation of maxillary sinus volume in different age and gender groups

Sinus maxillaris is an important anatomical formation in many branches of dentistry due to its proximity to the field of work. Various methods such as cadavers, stereological methods, two dimensional conventional radiographs, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging have been used to measure the maxillary sinus volume. Due to the development of biomedical technologies, software has been developed that facilitates physicians in preoperative treatment planning by making three-dimensional modeling allowing volume-area measurements by coloring each examined formation individually, allowing the tissues and organs in the complex structure to be separated from the surrounding anatomical formations and examined individually. The aim of our study is to evaluate the change of maxillary sinus volume according to age and gender with MIMICS 19.0 (Materialise HQ Technologielaan, Leuven, Belgium) which is one of these three dimensional modeling software. This study was performed in 200 patients selected by a retrospective review of the archives of the Dicle University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology. The patient were grouped into five age categories (18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55 and over years) and were divided by gender. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of the patients were transferred to the MIMICS software and the maxillary sinus volume was measured. All statistical analyses were performed using the SSPS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 21) software. There was no statistically significant difference between the right and left maxillary sinus volume according to the findings obtained from our study, and maxillary sinus volume in males was found to be significantly higher than that of females. Another finding of our study is that the maxillary sinus volume decreases with age increase. Especially it was also found that the sinus volume in males in the 18-24 age group was statistically significantly higher than females. It has been seen that the maxillary sinus structure can be evaluated effectively with the MIMICS program developed in recent years and the maxillary sinus volume can be measured at close to the exact value.