[Correlation between cone-beam CT images of the third and fourth cervical vertebrae and age in female skeletal class â patients aged between 9 and 17 years in Qingdao].

Objective: To analyze the correlation between the age and the cone-beam CT (CBCT) images of the third and fourth cervical vertebrae in female skeletal class Ⅰ patients aged between 9 and 17 years, and to establish a quantitative evaluation method for calculating the age. Methods: CBCT images of 108 female skeletal class Ⅰ patients aged between 9 and 17 years were collected from Qingdao Stomatological Hospital from September, 2017 to March, 2019. The two-dimensional linear values (AH: height of anterior edge of vertebral body; H: height of middle part of vertebral body; PH: height of posterior edge of vertebral body; AP: width of vertebral body), the two-dimensional linear ratio values (AH/PH, AH/AP, AH/H, H/AP, H/PH, PH/AP) and the three-dimensional volume values of the third vertical vertebrae (C3) and the fourth vertical vertebrae (C4) were measured. By Exponential transformation of measurements and multiple linear regression analysis, the optimal index for evaluating age were screened, and the fitting degree of multiple linear regression equation (R(2)) and the accuracy of age estimation (SEE) were compared. CBCT images of 27 female skeletal class Ⅰ patients aged from 9 to 17 years were added from Qingdao Stomatological Hospital between April, 2019 and July, 2019, by which the accuracy of the regression equation was verified. Results: Multiple linear regression equation for age estimation based on two-dimensional linear indexes was as follows: Y=-113.928+33.743×e(AH)(3)(/100)+58.844×e(PH)(4)(/100)+20.590×e(AP)(4)(/100)( "e" was a natural constant, e≈2.718), R(2)=0.745, SEE=1.31. Multiple linear regression equation for age estimation based on two-dimensional linear ratio indexes was as follows: Y=-0.076-2.284×e(A)H(3)/PH(3)+3.227×e(A)H(3)/AP(3)+2.149×e(A)H(3)/H(3)+1.961×e(A)H(4)/H(4), R(2)=0.576, SEE=1.70. Multiple linear regression equation of age estimation by the volume index was as follows: Y=-16.828+22.184×e(V)(3)(/10 000), R(2)=0.555, SEE=1.71. The data of 27 new patients were tested. The CBCT measurement index of C3 and C4 vertebral bodies inferred the fitting degree (R(2)) and accuracy (SEE) of the equation of the age estimation. The two-dimensional linear value was superior to the two-dimensional linear ratio and the latter was superior to the three-dimensional volume value. The standard error of the estimate about them was 1.74, 2.00 and 2.37, respectively. Conclusions: The two-dimensional linear index of CBCT images of C3 and C4 could be used to estimate the age of 9 to 17-year-old female skeletal class Ⅰ patients, and the accuracy of the method was higher than that of two-dimensional ratio index and three-dimensional volume index.

Detection accuracy of root fractures in cone-beam computed tomography images: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The aim of this review was to evaluate whether CBCT is reliable for the detection of root fractures in teeth without root fillings, and whether the voxel size has an impact on diagnostic accuracy. The studies published in PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, CNKI and Wanfang up to May 2014 were the data source. Studies on nonroot filled teeth with the i-CAT (n = 8) and 3D Accuitomo CBCT (n = 5) units were eventually selected. In the studies on i-CAT, the pooled sensitivity was 0.83 and the pooled specificity was 0.91; in the 3D Accuitomo studies, the pooled sensitivity was 0.95 and pooled specificity was 0.96. The i-CAT group comprised 5 voxel size subgroups and the 3D Accuitomo group contained 2 subgroups. For the i-CAT group, there was a significant difference amongst the five subgroups (0.125, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3 and 0.4 mm; P = 0.000). Pairwise comparison revealed that 0.125 mm voxel subgroup was significantly different from those of 0.2, 0.25 and 0.3 mm voxel subgroups, but not from the 0.4 mm voxel subgroup. There were no significant differences amongst any other two subgroups (by α' = 0.005). No significant difference was found between 0.08 mm and 0.125 mm voxel subgroups (P = 0.320) for the 3D Accuitomo group. The present review confirms the detection accuracy of root fractures in CBCT images, but does not support the concept that voxel size may play a role in improving the detection accuracy of root fractures in nonroot filled teeth.