A Retrospective Evaluation of Factors Influencing the Volume of Healthy Maxillary Sinuses Based on CBCT Imaging

The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors influencing the volume of healthy maxillary sinuses by means of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). The sinus volumes in bilateral CBCT images of healthy maxillary sinuses of patients aged 18 years or older were evaluated using dedicated 3D volumetric software. Differences in volume based on gender, age, sinus side, and dental status were analyzed statistically. The study included 174 healthy maxillary sinuses in 87 patients (60 women and 27 men) aged between 18 to 82 years with a mean age of 29.5 years. There were 73 dentate sinuses and 101 partially dentate or edentulous sinuses. Males had significantly larger maxillary sinus volumes compared to females. Subjects below the median age of 24.3 years had a significantly larger sinus volume than older subjects. There was no difference in sinus volume between left and right sides. When partially dentate and edentulous cases were pooled together and compared to dentate cases, there was no difference in sinus volume. Gender and age influence healthy maxillary sinus volume, while sinus side and dental status do not. Neither tooth loss nor increasing age could be correlated with ongoing pneumatization of the maxillary sinus in the present population. Thus, the reported increase of the maxillary sinus volume over life and following extraction of posterior teeth in the upper jaw might be considered a misconception. To prove this hypothesis, prospective studies comparing sinus volumes using standardized time intervals before and after tooth extraction in the posterior maxilla are needed.