Evaluation of the diagnostic efficacy of two cone-beam computed tomography protocols in reliably detecting the location of the inferior alveolar nerve canal.

Evaluation of the diagnostic efficacy of two cone-beam computed tomography protocols in reliably detecting the location of the inferior alveolar nerve canal.

Dentomaxillofac Radiol. 2017 Jan 27;:20160389

Authors: Tadinada A, Schneider S, Yadav S

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Reliable three-dimensional localization of the inferior alveolar nerve canal (IANC) is valuable for a variety of dento-alveolar procedures. While conventional CBCT offers 3D information at a reasonably low dose, it is still a significant amount of radiation. In this ex-vivo study, we evaluated the ability of a 180° rotational CBCT acquisition protocol with lower number of basis projections to create a CBCT dataset for reliable localization of the IANC compared to a conventional 360° rotational CBCT acquisition.
METHODS: Fifty dry human skulls were imaged using 180° and 360° rotational CBCT protocols. Measurements of the IANC throughout its course in the mandible were done. Two raters evaluated the measurements and rated the scans based on their ability to visualize the IANC and the measurements done.
RESULTS: IANC length measurements for the 180° protocol and 360° protocol were identical. There was no difference between evaluations by the two raters for the two protocols. Inter-examiner reliability values were over 90% for the two protocols. The sensitivity values for the two protocols were over 95%. The specificity for both protocols was 100%.
CONCLUSION: 180° CBCT acquisition protocol is able to accurately locate the IANC with high reliability and is comparable to a conventional 360° protocol.

PMID: 28128638 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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