BACKGROUND: Maxillary sinuses often constitute the path of least resistance for the growth of maxillary odontogenic lesions. Periapical and periodontal lesions can thus cause a variety of mucosal changes in the maxillary sinuses. Such changes may include antral mucosal thickenings (AMT) and maxillary sinus cysts (MSC), specifically pseudocysts, mucous retention cysts and mucoceles. OBJECTIVES: The aim was to determine the prevalence of AMT and maxillary MSC in a patient population from Harvard Dental Center, and to correlate AMT and MSC with periodontal and odontogenic infections. METHODS: This study represents a retrospective analysis of panoramic radiographs taken within the past 2 years from patients of the Harvard Dental Center. A total of 200 radiographs were assessed for mucosal changes in the maxillary sinus floor. The following information was recorded: patient's demographics, and dental and periodontal status of the maxillary right and left quadrants. The data was analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of AMT was 36.5%, and that of MSC was found to be 8.5%. A statistically significant association was found between maxillary alveolar bone loss, prior endodontic treatment, missing maxillary teeth, maxillary periapical pathology, and caries with the presence of AMT (p<0.05). There was also a significant association found between missing maxillary teeth, prior endodontic treatment, periodontal ligament widening, periapical pathology, and root proximity to the maxillary sinus with the presence of a dome-shaped opacity on the floor of the antrum (p<0.05), strongly suggestive of the presence of a maxillary sinus cyst. CONCLUSION: This study identified that more than one third of the radiographs examined had antral mucosal thickening while almost 10% had antral cysts. A positive association was found between the presence of these sinus changes and perio-odontogenic infections.

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