Resumen

MARTINEZ, Catalina; INZUNZA, Oscar  y  VARGAS, Alex. Analysis of the Hard Palate as a Donor Site for Bone Grafting. Int. J. Morphol. [online]. 2007, vol.25, n.2, pp.289-294. ISSN 0717-9502.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0717-95022007000200007.

The palate bone could be a favorable zone as a graft donor site whenever there is certainty in determining its thickness. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between the upper anterior facial heights with the hard palate thickness. In 29 dry skulls, we measured the upper anterior facial height after identifying the craniometric points nasion and prosthion. Then we measured the thickness of the hard palate of every sample at 6 and 9 mm dorsally from the incisive canal, in both paramedian regions (at 3 and 6 mm from the mid-palatal suture). A statistical analysis was done with Pearson correlation test to establish if the facial height could be a predictor of palate thickness. There exists a great variability in the hard palate's thickness ranging from 0.1 to 1.1 cm. The mean available was found to be best at 6 mm from the incisive canal with an average of 0,71 ± 0.20 cm. There was no significant correlation between the upper anterior facial height and the palate thickness. To rightly determine the hard palate thickness and, at the same time, its availability as a bone graft site, it would be necessary to confront craniometric methods with advanced imaging techniques

Palabras clave : Palatine process; Hard palate; Free bone graft.