Diagnostic accuracy of panoramic radiography, stereo-scanography and cone beam CT for assessment of mandibular third molars before surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of panoramic imaging, stereo-scanography and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) for assessment of mandibular third molars. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred and twelve patients (147 third molars) underwent radiographic examination by panoramic imaging, stereo-scanography and CBCT. Tooth angulation, root morphology, number of roots and relation to the mandibular canal were assessed. The same variables were assessed intra- and post-operatively and served as reference for the radiographic assessments. The diagnostic accuracy for each variable was compared between the three modalities and accuracy was further expressed as sensitivity and specificity and tested between the modalities for identifying the relation to the mandibular canal. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the modalities regarding tooth angulation, root morphology and number of roots. However, CBCT was more accurate than stereo-scanography for determining root bending in the bucco-lingual plane (p = 0.02). Moreover, sensitivity for direct contact to the mandibular canal (panoramic imaging: 0.29, stereo-scanography: 0.57, CBCT: 0.67) was higher for CBCT than for panoramic images (p = 0.05) and specificity for no direct contact to the mandibular canal (panoramic imaging: 0.78, stereo-scanography: 0.53, CBCT: 0.68) was higher for panoramic images and CBCT than for scanograms (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Panoramic imaging, stereo-scanography and CBCT seem equally valuable for examination of tooth angulation, number and morphology of roots of mandibular third molars. However, CBCT was more accurate for assessment of root bending in the bucco-lingual plane and more accurate than panoramic images to identify direct contact to the mandibular canal.

Implications of caries diagnostic strategies for clinical management decisions.

OBJECTIVES: In clinical practice, a visual-tactile caries examination is frequently supplemented by bitewing radiography. This study evaluated strategies for combining visual-tactile and radiographic caries detection methods and determined their implications for clinical management decisions in a low-caries population. METHODS: Each of four examiners independently examined preselected contacting interproximal surfaces in 53 dental students aged 20-37 years using a visual-tactile examination and bitewing radiography. The visual-tactile examination distinguished between noncavitated and cavitated lesions while the radiographic examination determined lesion depth. Direct inspection of the surfaces following tooth separation for the presence of cavitated or noncavitated lesions was the validation method. The true-positive rate (i.e. the sensitivity) and the false-positive rate (i.e. 1-specificity) were calculated for each diagnostic strategy. RESULTS: Visual-tactile examination provided a true-positive rate of 34.2% and a false-positive rate of 1.5% for the detection of a cavity. The combination of a visual-tactile and a radiographic examination using the lesion in dentin threshold for assuming cavitation had a true-positive rate of 76.3% and a false-positive rate of 8.2%. When diagnostic observations were translated into clinical management decisions using the rule that a noncavitated lesion should be treated nonoperatively and a cavitated lesion operatively, our results showed that the visual-tactile method alone was the superior strategy, resulting in most correct clinical management decisions and most correct decisions regarding the choice of treatment.

Craniofacial morphology in patients with hypophosphatemic rickets: a cephalometric study focusing on differences between bone of cartilaginous and intramembranous origin.

Hypophosphatemic rickets (HR) are diseases characterized by deficient mineralization of bone due to abnormal renal wasting of phosphate. Deformation of bony structures of cartilaginous origin has been described as a major characteristic in patients with HR, but little is known about the impact on bony structures of intramembranous origin. The aim of the present study was to describe the osseous morphology of the craniofacial structures in patients with HR compared to healthy controls, and to investigate the impact of different bone origin on the osseous morphology. Fifty-three patients with HR (17 males, 36 females), aged 3-74 yrs, were included. Fifty HR patients had dominant X-linked disease, and in three patients no mutations were identified. A total of 79 healthy individuals (37 males, 42 females), aged 6-79 yrs, with normal occlusion served as controls. Significant cephalometric differences were found between HR patients and controls. In HR patients, the cranial base was flattened and the depth of the posterior cranial fossa was decreased. The anterior height of the cranium, the angle nasion-sella-frontale, and the thickness of theca were increased. The length of the nasal bone and the height of the maxilla were reduced. In contrast, the vertical as well as the sagittal relation between the jaws were unaffected in HR patients compared to controls. In conclusion, we found that the cranial structures of cartilaginous origin as well as the structures of intramembraneous origin were affected in patients with HR.

Influence of cross-sectional temporomandibular joint tomography on diagnosis and management decisions of patients with temporomandibular joint disorders.

AIM: To assess whether changes in diagnoses and management of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJD) patients are influenced by radiographic findings and if there is an association between specific radiologic alterations and management strategy changes. METHODS: A total of 204 patients with TMJ symptoms were examined using the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD). Diagnoses and management were first decided without the aid of radiographs. Management categories were: pharmacology, physiotherapy, counseling and behavioral treatment, occlusal stabilization, surgery, additional examinations, and referrals, each with subcategories. Sagittal TMJ tomograms were assessed for the presence of flattening, erosion, osteophyte, and sclerosis in the TMJ components. Diagnoses and management were reevaluated after gaining access to the radiographs and radiographic classifications. Logistic regression analyses were performed with changes in management as the dependent variable and age and radiographic findings as the independent variables. RESULTS: Diagnosis was changed for 56 patients, mainly from arthralgia to osteoarthritis. Management was changed for 55 patients. Most changes occurred in pharmacology and physiotherapy followed by counseling and behavioral treatment, occlusal stabilization, referrals, additional examinations, and surgery. Changes were mostly within the categories, and the highest number of changes was seen in pharmacology, physiotherapy, and counseling and behavioral treatment. Radiographic degenerative findings increased the chance of change (any change) (odds ratio [OR] ⋝ 2.03) and the chance of change in pharmacology (OR ⋝ 2.56) and physiotherapy (OR = 2.48) separately. No other significant associations were found. CONCLUSION: Radiographic degenerative findings increased the chance of changes in management strategy. However, 73% of the TMJD patients had no changes in management after radiographic examination. In cases with changes, these were mainly adjustments within management categories.

Phenotype presentation of hypophosphatemic rickets in adults.

Hypophosphatemic rickets (HR) is a group of rare disorders caused by excessive renal phosphate wasting. The purpose of this cross-sectional study of 38 HR patients was to characterize the phenotype of adult HR patients. Moreover, skeletal and endodontic severity scores were defined to assess possible gender differences in disease severity in patients with genetically verified X-linked HR. Compared to normal reference data, i.e., z = 0, HR patients had significantly lower final height, with a mean difference in z-score of -1.9 (95% CI -2.4 to -1.4, P < 0.001). Compared to paired z-scores of final height, z-scores of leg length were significantly lower and those of sitting height were significantly higher (P < 0.001), resulting in disproportion as indicated by the significantly elevated sitting height ratio, mean difference in z-score of 2.6 (95% CI 2.1-3.1, P < 0.001). Z-scores of head circumference (median 1.4, range -0.4 to 5.5, P < 0.001) and z-scores of bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine (median 1.9, range -1.5 to 8.6, P < 0.001) were significantly elevated compared to normal reference data. The relative risk (RR) of fracture was reduced (RR = 0.34, 95% CI 0.20-0.57, P < 0.001). The skeletal severity score tended to be higher in males compared to females (P = 0.07), and no gender difference in endodontic severity was found. In conclusion, adult HR patients were characterized by short stature and were disproportioned. They had elevated BMD of the lumbar spine and a reduced risk of fractures. We found a tendency for males to be more severely affected than females.

Hypocalcified type of amelogenesis imperfecta in a large family: clinical, radiographic, and histological findings, associated dento-facial anomalies, and resulting treatment load.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to report on the clinical, radiographic, and histological dental findings and the resulting treatment load in a five-generation family with amelogenesis imperfecta (AI). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirteen affected and 15 unaffected individuals were examined clinically and radiographically. In addition, four exfoliated deciduous teeth were examined by scanning electron microscopy and microradiography. RESULTS: The mode of inheritance of AI was autosomal-dominant. At eruption, most of the tooth enamel was yellow, lacking translucency, and prone to gradual loss in subjects with AI. Post-eruptive breakdown of enamel was extensive in accordance with the histological observations of hypomineralized and porous enamel. Extensive enamel loss and discoloration were observed in older affected individuals. The treatment need had been extensive: 76.2% of the total number of teeth present in affected individuals had been treated with partial or full coverage compared to 1.7% of the teeth in unaffected relatives. Unaffected individuals had more endodontically treated teeth than AI-affected relatives. Adjunctive findings, e.g. tooth agenesis, tooth impaction, pulp stones, enlarged follicular space, and taurodontism, were rare in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Affected family members had the hypocalcified type of AI, which is characterized by severe hypomineralization, extensive post-eruptive loss, and discoloration of the enamel. Adjunctive findings were rare. Individuals with the hypocalcified type of AI have an extensive restorative treatment load compared to unaffected relatives.

Association between temporomandibular joint symptoms, signs, and clinical diagnosis using the RDC/TMD and radiographic findings in temporomandibular joint tomograms.

AIM: To identify associations between clinical symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorders and radiographic findings. METHODS: Two hundred four adult patients (156 women, 48 men, mean age 40 years) with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain/sounds or changes in mandibular motion were examined according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD). Bilateral sagittal corrected TMJ tomograms in closed and open positions were assessed for the presence of flattening, erosion, osteophytes, and sclerosis in the joint components and the range of mandibular motion. Logistic regression analyses were performed with the radiographic findings as the dependent variables and the following clinical variables as independent variables: opening pattern, maximal jaw opening, TMJ sounds, number of painful muscle/TMJ sites, duration of pain, presence of arthritic disease, depression and somatization scores, graded chronic pain, and age and gender. RESULTS: Coarse crepitus on opening/closing (odds ratio [OR] > or = 3.12), on lateral excursions (odds ratio > or = 4.06), and on protrusion (OR > or = 5.30) was associated with increased risk of degenerative findings in tomograms. A clinical diagnosis of osteoarthritis increased the risk of radiographic findings (OR > or = 2.95) and so did increasing age (OR > or = 1.03 per year) and the female gender (OR > or = 2.36). Maximal assisted opening and maximal opening without pain (< 40 mm) was associated with a posterior condyle-to-articular tubercle position (OR > or = 2.60). No other significant associations were observed. CONCLUSION: Age, gender, and coarse crepitus, but no pain-related variables, were associated with increased risk of degenerative findings in TMJ tomograms. Maximal opening < 40 mm was associated with a posterior condyle-to-articular tubercle relation on opening.

Amelogenesis imperfecta - a systematic literature review of associated dental and oro-facial abnormalities and their impact on patients.

OBJECTIVE: Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) is a disease primarily affecting amelogenesis, but other aberrations have been reported. The purposes of this review were: (1) to identify other anomalies associated with AI, and (2) to describe the impact of the disease and its associated conditions on the oral health-related quality of life of patients, and the economic consequences. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A literature search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Bibliotek.dk, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and OMIM, supplemented by a search for selected authors. Based on titles and abstracts, 137 papers were identified. RESULTS: Most articles were case reports or case series with few cases. Aberrations were reported in the eruption process, in the morphology of the crown, in the pulp-dentine organ, and in the number of teeth. Gingival conditions and oral hygiene were usually reported to be poor, and calculus was a common finding. Open bite was the most commonly reported malocclusion. A negative impact on patients' oral health-related quality of life was described, but information was scarce. No information was found on the economic impact. CONCLUSIONS: A number of aberrations associated with AI have been reported, but not sufficiently systematic to allow for a secondary analysis and synthesis of the findings. The impact on patients in terms of reduced quality of life and economic burden needs to be studied.

Osseous changes and condyle position in TMJ tomograms: impact of RDC/TMD clinical diagnoses on agreement between expected and actual findings.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of clinical TMJ diagnosis, gender, and age on the agreement between expected and actual radiographic findings. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 204 patients with TMJ symptoms were examined using the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC/TMD). Expected radiographic findings were recorded. TMJ tomograms in closed and open mouth position were assessed for osseous changes and condyle position. Expected and actual findings were compared. Logistic regression analyses were performed with agreement on radiographic findings as the dependent variable and with clinical RDC/TMD diagnoses, gender and age as the independent variables. RESULTS: The number of radiographic findings was mostly underestimated. A clinical diagnosis of osteoarthritis and age increased the chance of overestimating osseous changes. Disc displacement and age decreased the chance of agreement on certain condyle positions. CONCLUSION: Tomography often revealed unexpected findings. It was not possible to select particular patient groups who would benefit more or less from a radiographic examination.

Mandibular third molar removal: risk indicators for extended operation time, postoperative pain, and complications.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify risk indicators for extended operation time and postoperative complications after removal of mandibular third molars. STUDY DESIGN: There were 388 molars included in the study. The teeth were removed using the buccal approach under local anesthesia. Four hours postoperatively the patient recorded his or her pain perception on a visual analogue scale (VAS). After surgery a surgeon recorded parameters regarding the tooth and if the mandibular nerve had been visible during the operation. One week postoperatively the postoperative pain and complications were recorded. Logistic regression models were made to identify risk indicators for extended operation time, postoperative pain, and complications. RESULTS: Females were at higher risk for postoperative pain and dry socket than males. Older patients were at higher risk for extended operation time than younger patients. Radiographically fully impacted molars increased the risk of postoperative general infection. If the nerve was visible during surgery there was a higher risk of a high VAS score, postoperative pain, and general infection than if the nerve had not been visible. CONCLUSION: Several indicators were found to increase the risk of postoperative complications, but a visible alveolar inferior nerve during the operation was repeatedly found to be the highest single risk indicator.

Relationship between histological and radiographic caries lesion depth measured in images from four digital radiography systems.

The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of approximal caries lesion depth measurements in radiographs from four digital systems. Two CCD-based sensors, Dixi (Planmeca) and Sidexis (Sirona), and two phosphor plate systems, Digora (Soredex) and DenOptix (Gendex), were used to record radiographs of 177 extracted human teeth. Sixty-four radiographically visible lesions were selected and measured by 4 observers in the digital radiographs and in digital photographs of histological sections of the teeth. The gold standard (true measure) was defined as the mean of the 4 observers' measurements on the histological sections. Two untrained observers underestimated general lesion depth in all the radiographic systems while each of 2 trained observers underestimated the depth in one of the systems. Analysis of variance revealed that Digora images resulted overall in the smallest underestimation, followed by Dixi, DenOptix and Sidexis. The differences between Digora and Sidexis and between Dixi and Sidexis were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Analysis of variance using the regression coefficient as the test variable demonstrated that the coefficients differed between DenOptix and the remaining systems (p < 0.05) while there were no significant differences between these (p > 0.05). It can be concluded that radiographs obtained with the Dixi and Digora systems were more accurate than Sidexis and DenOptix images for measurement of caries lesion depth. Still, a high probability exists that the individual lesion measurement is either overestimated or underestimated compared to the true lesion depth.

Influence of number of surfaces and observers on statistical power in a multiobserver ROC radiographic caries detection study.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of the number of surfaces (N(SURF)) and the number of observers (N(OBS)) on the statistical power of a study comparing the diagnostic accuracies of radiographic systems used for approximal caries lesion detection. A data set consisting of 338 surfaces examined by 10 independent observers using four radiographic systems was available. The presence of a caries lesion was assessed from a 5-point confidence scale. The true lesion diagnosis was established by histological validation. ROC curve areas (A(z)s) were used to express the diagnostic accuracy of the observers with the radiographic systems. Assuming that the A(z)s were tested by a two-way analysis of variance, we performed a simulation study in order to evaluate how the power of this statistical analysis depended on N(SURF) and N(OBS). As a measure of the statistical power we used the standard error of the difference between the expected A(z)s of two systems. The simulations were made with N(SURF) in the range from 25 to 338 and N(OBS) from 2 to 10. The simulations showed that the power increased as a function of the total number of evaluations per system (N(SURF) x N(OBS)), but how this number was attained in relation to the number of surfaces and observers had only marginal influence on the power. Thus, from a statistical point of view it may be concluded, provided that data are analyzed by a two-way analysis of variance, that study designs for comparing the accuracy of several systems can be composed freely in relation to the number of surfaces and observers as long as the total number of evaluations per system are identical.

Diagnostic outcome of methods frequently used for caries validation. A comparison of clinical examination, radiography and histology following hemisectioning and serial tooth sectioning.

The aim of this study was to compare the caries diagnostic outcome of four methods frequently used as validation for dental caries. The diagnostic outcome of clinical examination (CL), radiography (RA), and histology after serial tooth sectioning (HI-serial) on 373 approximal and 158 occlusal surfaces was compared, and furthermore histology after hemi- (HI-hemi) and serial sectioning on another 113 approximal and 53 occlusal surfaces was compared. Two thresholds for each method (CL: (1) sound vs. all caries scores, and (2) non-cavitated vs. cavitated lesions; RA and HI: (1) sound vs. all caries scores, and (2) no dentine vs. dentine lesions) were evaluated. In general, large differences in diagnostic outcomes were observed with the various methods. At threshold 1, CL resulted in significantly more lesions than both RA and HI-serial on approximal surfaces, and than RA on occlusal surfaces. At threshold 2, no significant differences between CL, RA and HI-serial were found on approximal surfaces, but on occlusal surfaces significantly more lesions were diagnosed with RA and HI-serial than with CL. Significantly more occlusal lesions were found by HI-serial than by RA at both thresholds 1 and 2. On approximal surfaces, a similar result was found only at threshold 1. On approximal surfaces, significantly more lesions were diagnosed with HI-serial than with HI-hemi at both thresholds 1 and 2. On occlusal surfaces the same was found only at threshold 1. The intra-observer reproducibility was higher using HI-serial than using RA and CL.

Accuracy of computer-automated caries detection in digital radiographs compared with human observers.

The aim of this study was to compare diagnostic accuracy of a caries detection program with that of human observers. A total of 190 extracted teeth were radiographed with two Trophy RVG (RadioVisioGraphy) digital sensor systems. Four observers scored the approximal surfaces in all images on a disease severity scale. Each observer thereafter used the Logicon Caries Detector (LCD) program to analyse the surfaces in the digital images and recorded their outcome. To determine the true absence or presence of caries, histological validation was used. Sensitivities, specificities, positive and negative predictive values were calculated and differences between the diagnostic methods tested. Specificities for the outcome with the LCD were significantly lower for three observers than when they themselves assessed the RVG images and, correspondingly, the positive predictive values were lower for the LCD outcome for three of the observers. Sensitivity was also lower for two observers on the diagnostic threshold caries in dentine. It was concluded that the automated caries detection program is less accurate than human observers in detecting approximal caries lesions.