Application of 3D Computed Tomography Reconstruction Images to Assess the Thickness and Dimensions of the Posterior Palatal Seal Area

Abstract

Few studies have been reported on the scientific measurements of the thickness and dimensions of the posterior palatal seal (PPS) area. The purpose of this study is to measure and analyze the thickness of palatal mucosa by using a three-dimensional (3D) model reconstructed with computed tomography (CT) images and to present objective values by identifying the PPS area. The CT images were reconstructed as a 3D model by separating the maxillary palate mucosa and teeth. Each reconstructed model was analyzed and the thickness was measured at 93 crossing points of each divided plane. The dimension of the PPS area was measured and the right and left dimensions of the PPS area were compared. The thickness of the palatal mucosa was thicker toward the posterior area. The thickness increased in the lateral direction and decreased again. In the PPS area, the mean dimension between the rearmost of anterior border and the most posterior line was 2.19 mm and the mean dimension between the forefront of anterior border and the most posterior line was 5.19 mm in the right side and 5.16 mm in the left side. The mean dimension from the center of the palate to the right most forward point was 6.85 mm, and the left was 7.36 mm. The new measurement method of palatal mucosal thickness is noninvasive, accurate, and easy to store and study, so it can be used effectively in planning and manufacturing the maxillary complete denture in the digital workflows.

Clinical use of digital applications for diagnostic and treatment planning in prosthodontics: A scoping review

“…Detailed information of each included study is presented in Table 1 (Abduo et al, 2015(Abduo et al, , 2016Deng et al, 2021;Helder et al, 2022;Kajor et al, 2022;Lavorgna et al, 2019;Lee et al, 2022;Li et al, 2022;Lim et al, 2019;Liu et al, 2019;Lv et al, 2022;Marro et al, 2020;Pantea et al, 2020;Revilla-Leon et al, 2020;Seidel et al, 2022;Shaik et al, 2017;Vinayahalingam et al, 2023;Zhu et al, 2022).…”

“…IOS was, for example, associated with both, superimposition technique and 3D printing. The dominant digital application identified was merging of two or more medical file formats (Abduo et al, 2015(Abduo et al, , 2016Lavorgna et al, 2019;Lv et al, 2022;Marro et al, 2020;Pantea et al, 2020;Seidel et al, 2022), followed using 2D and 3D x-rays (Lim et al, 2019;Seidel et al, 2022;Shaik et al, 2017;Vinayahalingam et al, 2023). Table 2 provides a detailed summary of the various digital applications and their intended use in relation to the prosthetic indications.…”

“…Digital x-rays [2D/3D] • Segmentation of dental x-rays for temporo-mandibular joint disorders (Vinayahalingam et al, 2023) • Crown fitting guide (Helder et al, 2022) • Measurement of palatal soft-tissue thickness (Lim et al, 2019;Seidel et al, 2022) • Screening and fair distribution of patients among students and clinical faculty (Shaik et al, 2017) Intraoral scanning (IOS)…”