Over the last 15 years, cone beam computed tomographic (CBCT) imaging has emerged as an important supplemental radiographic technique for orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning, especially in situations which require an understanding of the complex anatomic relationships and surrounding structures of the maxillofacial skeleton. CBCT imaging provides unique features and advantages to enhance orthodontic practice over conventional extraoral radiographic imaging. While it is the responsibility of each practitioner to make a decision, in tandem with the patient/family, consensus-derived, evidence-based clinical guidelines are available to assist the clinician in the decision-making process. Specific recommendations provide selection guidance based on variables such as phase of treatment, clinically-assessed treatment difficulty, the presence of dental and/or skeletal modifying conditions, and pathology. CBCT imaging in orthodontics should always be considered wisely as children have conservatively, on average, a three to five times greater radiation risk compared with adults for the same exposure. The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the operation of CBCT equipment as it relates to image quality and dose, highlight the benefits of the technique in orthodontic practice, and provide guidance on appropriate clinical use with respect to radiation dose and relative risk, particularly for the paediatric patient.
Introduction:Fractal dimension (FD) on periapical radiographs is used as a simple descriptor of the complex architecture of the trabecular bone surrounding the dentition. It is used on periapical and panoramic radiographs as a descriptor of the complex architecture of trabecular bone surrounding teeth.Aim:The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of image resolution and different compression levels on fractal dimension of alveolar bone with images obtained using storage phosphor plate (SPP) system.Methods:Periapical images of premolar and molar teeth on both sides of three dry human mandibles were obtained with Digora Optime (Soredex Corp., Helsinki, Finland) SPP system. The SPPs were exposed equally and scanned immediately after exposure with standard, high and very high resolutions. All the images then were compressed and saved by degrees of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 90%. FD was calculated using public domain software (ImageJ with FracLac plug-in) on two non-overlapping regions of interest (ROIs) on premolar and molar periapical bone areas of each radiograph using differential box-counting method. The ROIs on corresponding images were of the same size and position. FDs were compared using two-way ANOVA and Tukey–Kramer multiple comparison tests (p=0.05).Results:There was no significant difference in FD calculations in different levels of compression for all the resolutions. Images obtained with high resolution scans showed significantly lower variation in FD values compared to very high and standard resolutions for all compressions (p<0.0001).Conclusion:The high resolution demonstrated the lowest variation in FD values in all levels of compression which makes it the most reliable and consistent resolution for measuring the FD values. The level of compression does not make a significant difference in FD values for all the scan resolutions. Scanning resolution of SPPs should be carefully chosen when evaluating the change in FD of alveolar bone for various bone disorders.
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