Human Tooth and Root Canal Morphology Reconstruction Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

Background and aimsVisualization of the internal and external root canal morphology is very important for a successful endodontic treatment; however, it seems to be difficult considering the small size of the tooth and the complexity of the root canal system. Film-based or digital conventional radiographic techniques as well as cone beam computed tomography provide limited information on the dental pulp anatomy or have harmful effects. A new non-invasive diagnosis tool is magnetic resonance imaging, due to its ability of imaging both hard and soft tissues. The aim of this study was to demonstrate magnetic resonance imaging to be a useful tool for imaging the anatomic conditions of the external and internal root canal morphology for endodontic purposes.MethodsThe endodontic system of one freshly extracted wisdom tooth, chosen for its well-known anatomical variations, was mechanically shaped using a hybrid technique. After its preparation, the tooth was immersed into a recipient with saline solution and magnetic resonance imaged immediately. A Bruker Biospec magnetic resonance imaging scanner operated at 7.04 Tesla and based on Avance III radio frequency technology was used. InVesalius software was employed for the 3D reconstruction of the tooth scanned volume.ResultsThe current ex-vivo experiment shows the accurate 3D volume rendered reconstruction of the internal and external morphology of a human extracted and endodontically treated tooth using a dataset of images acquired by magnetic resonance imaging. The external lingual and vestibular views of the tooth as well as the occlusal view of the pulp chamber, the access cavity, the distal canal opening on the pulp chamber floor, the coronal third of the root canals, the degree of root separation and the apical fusion of the two mesial roots, details of the apical region, root canal curvatures, furcal region and interradicular root grooves could be clearly bordered.ConclusionsMagnetic resonance imaging offers 3D image datasets with more information than the conventional radiographic techniques. Due to its ability of imaging both hard and soft dental tissues, magnetic resonance imaging can be successfully used as a 3D diagnostic imaging technique in dentistry. When choosing the imaging method, dental clinicians should weight the benefit-risk ratio, taking into account the costs associated to magnetic resonance imaging and the harmful effects of ionizing radiations when cone beam computed tomography or conventional x-ray are used.

Endodontic Periapical Lesion: An Overview on Etiology, Diagnosis and Current Treatment Modalities

“…However, this method has some limitations. It is required to scan a longer time to have sufficient resolution ( 74 ). Visualization of enamel and dentin is challenging as they have no MRI signals.…”

Ultrasound Imaging versus Radiographs in Differentiating Periapical Lesions: A Systematic Review

“…They are non-invasive diagnostic methods that can be used in vivo. MRI, however, is associated with high costs, the need for expensive equipment, longer scan times for adequate resolution, and device-related artifacts [ 27 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

Volumetric pulp chambers measurements in mandibular and maxillary permanent first molar using cone-beam computed tomography by age and gender

“…It is possible to visualize both hard and soft tissues in 3-dimension with magnetic resonance imaging, a non-invasive diagnostic tool. It is presented as an alternative to CBCT because ionizing radiation is not used in magnetic resonance imaging (28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33). In our study, the patients were not exposed to unnecessary additional radiation for volume measurements since we used CBCT images that had already been taken for diagnostic or treatment purposes.…”