• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.15-18
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• 2007

Purpose : Disc and condylar position were observed on MRIs of temporomandibular joint disorder patients and condylar position agreement between MRI and tranascranal radiography was evaluated. Materials and Methods MRI and transcranial radiographs of both TM joints from 67 patients with temporemandibular disorder were used. On MRI, the position and shape of disc and condylar position as anterior, middle, posterior was evaluated at medial, center, and lateral views. On transcranial radiographs, condylar position was evaluated using the shortest distance from condyle to fossa in anterior, superior, and posterior directions. Results. 1. On MRI, 96 joints (71.6%) of 134 had anterior disc dispalcement with reduction and 38 joints (28.4%) without reduction. 2. Fourteen (14.6%) of 96 reducible joints showed anterior condylar position, 19 (19.8%) showed central position, 63 joints (65.6%) showed posterior position. Two joints (5.3%) of 38 non-reducible joints showed anterior condylar position, while 9 (23.7%) showed central position, and 27 (71.1%)-posterior position. 3. In 85 joints (63.4%) of 134, the transcranial condylar position agreed with that of the central MRI view, 10 joints (7.5%) with that of medial, 16 joints (11.9%) with that of lateral, and 23 joints (17.2%) disagreed with that of MRI. Conclusion : On MRT, most oi the reducible and non-reducible joints showed posterior condylar position. Transcranial radiographs taken with machine designed for TMJ had better agreement of condylar position with that of MRI. Extremely narrow joint spaces or very posterior condylar positions observed on transcranial radiographs had a little more than fifty percent agreement with those of MRIs.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.235-243
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was performed to assess the correlation of calcified carotid atheromatous plaque (CCAP), the mandibular cortical index, and periodontal bone loss in panoramic radiographs. Materials and Methods: One hundred eighty-five panoramic radiographs with CCAP and 234 without this finding were evaluated by 3 observers for the presence of osseous changes related to osteoporosis and periodontal bone loss. Chi-squared and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare the two groups for an association of CCAP with the mandibular cortical index and periodontal bone loss, respectively. Results: There was a statistically significant coincidence of CCAP and osseous changes related to osteopenia/osteoporosis, with a p-value <0.001. There was no statistically significant coincidence of CCAP and periodontal bone loss. When comparing the 2 groups, "With CCAP" and "Without CCAP", there was a statistically significant association with the mean body mass index (BMI), number of remaining teeth, positive history of diabetes mellitus, and vascular accidents. There was no statistically significant association with gender or a history of smoking. Conclusion: This study identified a possible concurrence of CCAP and mandibular cortical changes secondary to osteopenia/osteoporosis in panoramic radiographs. This could demonstrate the important role of dental professionals in screening for these systemic conditions, leading to timely and appropriate referrals resulting in early interventions and thus improving overall health.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.103-109
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• 2016

Background: One nostril must be selected for nasotracheal intubation. In some cases, structural anomalies within the nasal cavity hinder the insertion of the tube or complications, such as epistaxis, develop. This study examined the possibility of using radiography to select the nostril that would induce fewer complications. Methods: Four hundred and five patients who underwent nasotracheal intubation under general anesthesia were studied. A 7.0-mm internal diameter nasal right angle endotracheal (RAE) tube and 6.5-mm internal diameter nasal RAE tube were inserted into men and women, respectively. Complications were considered to have developed in cases in which insertion of the tube into the nasal cavity failed or epistaxis occurred. The tube was inserted into the other nostril for insertion failures and hemostasis was performed in cases of epistaxis. The degree of nasal septal deviation was determined from posteroanterior skull radiographs or panoramic radiographs; the incidence of complications was compared depending on the direction of the septal deviation and the intubated nostril. Results: The radiographs of 390 patients were readable; 94 had nasal septum deviation. The incidence of complications for cases without nasal septum deviation was 16.9%, that for cases in which the tube was inserted into the nostril on the opposite side of the deviation was 18.5%, and that for cases in which the tube was inserted into the nostril with the deviation was 35.0%, showing a high incidence of complications when intubation is performed through the nostril with septum deviation (chi-square test, P < 0.05 ). Conclusions: Although there were no differences in the incidence rates of complications between intubation through the left nostril and that through the right nostril, radiological findings indicated that incidence of complications significantly increased when the tube was inserted into the nostril with the septum deviation.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.121-127
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• 2012

Purpose: This study evaluated the association between cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and panoramic radiographs in the assessment of a superimposed relationship between the mandibular canal and impacted third molars. Materials and Methods: The study samples consisted of 175 impacted third molars from 131 patients who showed a superimposed relationship between the mandibular canal and third molars on panoramic radiographs and were referred for the examination of the mandibular canal with CBCT. Panoramic images were evaluated for the darkening of the root and the interruption of the mandibular canal wall. CBCT images were used to assess the buccolingual position of the mandibular canal relative to the third molar, the proximity of the roots to the canal, and lingual cortical bone loss. The association of the panoramic and CBCT findings was examined using a Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. Results: Panoramic radiographic signs were statistically associated with CBCT findings (P<0.01). In cases of darkening roots, lingual cortical bone loss or buccally positioned canals were more frequent. In cases in which the mandibular canal wall was interrupted on panoramic radiographs, contact or lingually positioned canals were more frequent. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that contact between the mandibular third molar and canal and a lingually positioned canal could be more frequently observed in cases of the interruption of the white line of the mandibular canal and that there could be more lingual cortical loss in cases of darkening roots.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.87-96
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• 2018

Purpose: The present study aimed to evaluate which of the following imaging methods best assessed misfit at the tooth-restoration interface: (1) bitewing radiographs, both conventional and digital, performed using a photostimulable phosphor plate (PSP) and a charge-coupled device (CCD) system; (2) panoramic radiographs, both conventional and digital; and (3) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: Forty healthy human molars with class I cavities were selected and divided into 4 groups according to the restoration that was applied: composite resin, composite resin with liner material to simulate misfit, dental amalgam, and dental amalgam with liner material to simulate misfit. Radiography and tomography were performed using the various imaging methods, and the resulting images were analyzed by 2 calibrated radiologists. The true presence or absence of misfit corresponding to an area of radiolucency in regions subjacent to the esthetic and metal restorations was validated with microscopy. The data were analyzed using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the scores were compared using the Cohen kappa coefficient. Results: For bitewing images, the digital systems (CCD and PSP) showed a higher area under the ROC curve (AUROC) for the evaluation of resin restorations, while the conventional images exhibited a larger AUROC for the evaluation of amalgam restorations. Conventional and digital panoramic radiographs did not yield good results for the evaluation of resin and amalgam restorations (P<.05). CBCT images exhibited good results for resin restorations(P>.05), but showed no discriminatory ability for amalgam restorations(P<.05). Conclusion: Bitewing radiographs (conventional or digital) should be the method of choice when assessing dental restoration misfit.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2016

Purposes: This study employed a posteriori registration and subtraction of radiographic images to quantify the apical root resorption in maxillary permanent central incisors after orthodontic treatment, and assessed whether the external apical root resorption (EARR) was related to a range of parameters involved in the treatment. Materials and Methods: A sample of 79 patients (mean age, $13.5{\pm}2.2years$) with no history of trauma or endodontic treatment of the maxillary permanent central incisors was selected. Periapical radiographs taken before and after orthodontic treatment were digitized and imported to the Regeemy software. Based on an analysis of the post-treatment radiographs, the length of the incisors was measured using Image J software. The mean EARR was described in pixels and relative root resorption (%). The patient's age and gender, tooth extraction, use of elastics, and treatment duration were evaluated to identify possible correlations with EARR. Results: The mean EARR observed was $15.44{\pm}12.1pixels$ (5.1% resorption). No differences in the mean EARR were observed according to patient characteristics (gender, age) or treatment parameters (use of elastics, treatment duration). The only parameter that influenced the mean EARR of a patient was the need for tooth extraction. Conclusion: A posteriori registration and subtraction of periapical radiographs was a suitable method to quantify EARR after orthodontic treatment, and the need for tooth extraction increased the extent of root resorption after orthodontic treatment.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.115-121
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• 2011

Purpose : This article is to describe a modified device for intraoral radiography which was developed to obtain reproducible radiographic images for assessment of distal osseous defects of the mandibular second molar (2 Mm) after impacted third molar (3 Mm) surgery. Materials and Methods : A commercial available alignment system for posterior region was modified by adding a reference gauge pin (millimetric) and threading a hollow acrylic cylinder at the ring of the radiographic positioner to attach the X-ray collimator. The design included customized resin acrylic stent for the occlusal surface of the 2Mm in maximum intercuspal position, individualizing the biteblock positioner. Periapical radiographs were taken before and after surgical extraction of 3 Mm, employing the radiographic technique of parallelism described by Kugelberg (1986) with this modified film holder and inserting the gauge pin on the deepest bone probing depth point. Results : This technique permitted to obtain standardized periapical radiographs with a moderate to high resolution, repeatability, and accuracy. There was no difference between the measurements on the pre- and post-operative radiographs. This technique allowed better maintenance of the same geometric position compared with conventional one. The insertion of the gauge pin provided the same reference point and localized the deepest osseous defect on the two-dimensional radiographs. Conclusion : This technique allowed better reproducibility in posterior radiographic records (distal surface of 2 Mm) and more accurate measurements of radiographic bone level by the use of a millimetric pin.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.223-235
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to summarize the impact of neck and head radiation treatment on maxillofacial structures detected on panoramic radiographs. Materials and Methods: In this systematic review, the authors searched PubMed Central, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for original research studies up to February 2020 that included the following Medical Subject Headings keywords: words related to "radiotherapy" and synonyms combined with keywords related to "panoramic radiography" and "oral diagnosis" and synonyms. Only original studies in English that investigated the maxillofacial effects of radiotherapy via panoramic radiographs were included. The quality of the selected manuscripts was evaluated by assessing the risk of bias using Cochrane's ROBINS-I tool for non-randomized studies. Results: Thirty-three studies were eligible and included in this review. The main objectives pertained to the assessment of the effects of radiation on maxillofacial structures, including bone architecture alterations, periodontal space widening, teeth development abnormalities, osteoradionecrosis, and implant bone loss. The number of participants evaluated ranged from 8 to 176. Conclusion: The interaction between ionizing radiation and maxillofacial structures results in hazard to the tissues involved, particularly the bone tissue, periosteum, connective tissue of the mucosa, and endothelium. Hard tissue changes due to radiation therapy can be detected on panoramic radiographs.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.239-244
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• 2022

Purpose: Despite the proliferation of numerous morphometric and anthropometric methods for sex identification based on linear, angular, and regional measurements of various parts of the body, these methods are subject to error due to the observer's knowledge and expertise. This study aimed to explore the possibility of automated sex determination using convolutional neural networks(CNNs) based on lateral cephalometric radiographs. Materials and Methods: Lateral cephalometric radiographs of 1,476 Iranian subjects (794 women and 682 men) from 18 to 49 years of age were included. Lateral cephalometric radiographs were considered as a network input and output layer including 2 classes(male and female). Eighty percent of the data was used as a training set and the rest as a test set. Hyperparameter tuning of each network was done after preprocessing and data augmentation steps. The predictive performance of different architectures (DenseNet, ResNet, and VGG) was evaluated based on their accuracy in test sets. Results: The CNN based on the DenseNet121 architecture, with an overall accuracy of 90%, had the best predictive power in sex determination. The prediction accuracy of this model was almost equal for men and women. Furthermore, with all architectures, the use of transfer learning improved predictive performance. Conclusion: The results confirmed that a CNN could predict a person's sex with high accuracy. This prediction was independent of human bias because feature extraction was done automatically. However, for more accurate sex determination on a wider scale, further studies with larger sample sizes are desirable.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.156-161
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• 2023

Background: We analyzed association between viewing two-dimensional computed tomography (2D CT) images in addition to radiographs with radial head treatment recommendations after accounting for patient and surgeon factors in a survey-based experiment. Methods: One hundred and fifty-four surgeons reviewed 15 patient scenarios with terrible triad fracture dislocations of the elbow. Surgeons were randomized to view either radiographs only or radiographs and 2D CT images. The scenarios randomized patient age, hand dominance, and occupation. For each scenario, surgeons were asked if they would recommend fixation or arthroplasty of the radial head. Multi-level logistic regression analysis identified variables associated with radial head treatment recommendations. Results: Reviewing 2D CT images in addition to radiographs had no statistical association with treatment recommendations. A higher likelihood of recommending prosthetic arthroplasty was associated with older patient age, patient occupation not requiring manual labor, surgeon practice location in the United States, practicing for five years or less, and the subspecialties "trauma" and "shoulder and elbow." Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that in terrible triad injuries, the imaging appearance of radial head fractures has no measurable influence on treatment recommendations. Personal surgeon factors and patient demographic characteristics may have a larger role in surgical decision making. Level of evidence: Level III, therapeutic case-control study.