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Review
. 2021 Jul;37(3):366-375.
doi: 10.1007/s11282-020-00484-5. Epub 2020 Sep 15.

Estimating bone mineral density using MRI in medicine and dentistry: a literature review

Danielle Ayumi Nishimura  1 , Isabela Goulart Gil Choi  2 , Emiko Saita Arita  2 , Arthur Rodriguez Gonzalez Cortes  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Estimating bone mineral density using MRI in medicine and dentistry: a literature review

Danielle Ayumi Nishimura et al. Oral Radiol. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: Studies performed in the medical area have shown that an indirect diagnosis of bone mineral density (BMD) is feasible by assessing the amount of bone marrow fat with non-ionizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In dentistry, radiographic methods are still the most used for alveolar bone diagnosis. The present literature review aimed at addressing the role of MRI in assessing BMD in medicine and dentistry.

Methods: MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched for articles published up to 2019.

Results: A total of 428 potentially eligible papers were screened. Of these, 397 were excluded after title, abstract and keyword assessment, yielding 31 papers that potentially met the inclusion criteria. Eleven studies were then excluded because their full texts did not discuss the role of MRI in the indirect diagnosis of BMD. As a result, a total of 20 studies were finally identified as eligible for inclusion in this literature review. Most studies found satisfactory accuracy of MRI for indirectly assessing BMD by quantifying bone mineral fat (BMF). However, only one of these studies was on dentistry.

Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, the present findings suggest that MRI is accurate to indirectly estimate bone density by assessing BMF, and could be clinically relevant during dental treatment planning.

Keywords: Bone density; Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Perfusion imaging.

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