Decrease in bone density, severe pain, and often associated with an increased risk of fractures are factors that define osteoporosis as a disease. Studies worldwide have revealed that a high relationship between the development of osteoporosis and the density of the bone can be assessed using 2D radiographs that are used in dentistry from the mandibular bone analysis. Thus, in identifying patients at risk for the development of osteoporosis or detecting early osteoporosis, dental radiographs might be useful. The objective of the study is to therefore validate this diagnostic efficiency of digital panoramic radiographs in predicting osteoporosis using the mandibular cortical index (MCI), to identify the risk group of osteoporosis, and also to investigate the influence of age and gender in medically healthy patients. Statistically significant results are found between gender and the MCI indices. Males were shown to have a predilection than females to the risk of osteoporosis in our study. Whereas different age criteria analyzed did not show any statistical significance in the present study. In our study, males showed a statistically significant correlation to the risk of development of osteoporosis than the females unlike the majority of the studies. C2 was the prevalent MCI criteria among the Saudi subpopulation. Local environmental factors and a decrease in exposure to radiation can be the factors that have influenced the results. Also, larger samples will be evaluated as an extension of the study for further validation of gender influence on osteoporosis.
