A radiographic evaluation of the availability of bone for placement of miniscrews.

Monocortical screws are increasingly being used to enhance orthodontic anchorage. The most frequently cited clinical complication is soft tissue irritation. It is thus clinically advantageous for these miniscrews to be placed in attached mucosa. The purpose of this study was to (1) determine radiographically the most coronal interradicular sites for placement of miniscrews in orthodontic patients and (2) determine if orthodontic alignment increases the number of sites with adequate interradicular bone for placement of these screws. Sixty panoramic radiographs (n = 30 pretreatment, n = 30 posttreatment) of orthodontic patients were obtained from an archival database after Institutional Review Board approval. Selection criteria included minimal radiographic distortion and complete eruption of permanent second molars. Interradicular sites were examined with a digital caliper for presence of three and four mm of bone. If three or four mm of bone existed, then a vertical measurement from the cementoenamel junction (CEJ) to first measurement was made. In addition, the magnification error inherent in panoramic radiographs was estimated. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals were calculated for the vertical distances from the CEJ to the horizontal bone location. Bone stock for placement of screws was found to exist primarily in the maxillary (mesial to first molars) and mandibular (mesial and distal to first molars) posterior regions. Typically, adequate bone was located more than halfway down the root length, which is likely to be covered by movable mucosa. Inability to place miniscrews in attached gingiva may necessitate design modifications to decrease soft tissue irritation.