Anatomical study of the maxillary sinus: which characteristics can influence its volume?

Purpose: To investigate whether there is a relationship between the volume of the maxillary sinus and individual parameters such as gender, side, posterior tooth absence, sinus membrane thickening, bony septa, vertical and sagittal skeletal patterns.

Methods: The tomographic volume of the maxillary sinus from 211 individuals (422 sides) was evaluated using Horos DICOM Viewer Software. Bony septa and sinus membrane thickening were classified as absent or present. At the same time, loss of one or more teeth in the posterior region of the maxilla (except for the third molars) was considered. The t test was applied to analyze maxillary sinus volume according to gender, age, side, posterior tooth absence, sinus membrane thickening and bony septa. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's post-hoc test was applied to compare sagittal and vertical patterns. Pearson's correlation coefficient was also used to verify the association between maxillary sinus volume, age and skeletal patterns.

Results: Concerning the sagittal skeletal pattern, a statistically significant difference was observed between Classes II and III (p = 0.05) and it was confirmed by the Pearson's correlation coefficient (r = - 0.107/p = 0.029). No statistically significant differences were observed between the maxillary sinus volume according to gender (p = 0.06), side (p = 0.37), posterior tooth absence (p = 0.92), sinus membrane thickening (p = 0.47), bony septa (0.89) and vertical skeletal pattern (p = 0.67). No significant differences were observed with age (r = - 0.076/p = 0.109) and the vertical skeletal pattern (r = - 0.078/p = 0.108).

Conclusion: Maxillary sinus volume was influenced by the sagittal skeletal pattern and was higher in Class III individuals.