Distance of the alveolar antral artery from the alveolar crest. Related factors and surgical considerations in sinus floor elevation

Background In a variable proportion of maxillary sinuses alveolar antral artery is located close to the residual ridge, increasing the chances for haemorrhagic complications during sinus floor elevation procedures. Material and Methods Retrospective observational study of CBCT explorations performed for implant-treatment planning. The upper first molar area was selected for this study. The relative uncertainty (standard deviation of the measurement divided by its mean and expressed as a percentage from 0% to 100%) was chosen for determining the observational errors. For modeling the chances of AAA detection, the generalized additive models (GAM) approach was chosen. Results A total of 240 m…