title: Oblique lateral cephalometric radiographs of the mandible in implantology: usefulness and accuracy of the technique in height measurements of mandibular bone in vivo.
abstract: Various radiographic techniques are used for longitudinal studies of changes in the height of the mandible with implants. Advantages and disadvantages of panoramic radiographs, lateral cephalometric radiographs, periapical films and modern CT- and MRI-techniques are briefly discussed. In this study, the usefulness of a conventional radiographic technique for measuring the height of the mandible, i.e. oblique lateral cephalometric radiography (OLCR) is evaluated in vivo. In 16 patients with permucosal implants in the anterior mandible OLCRs were repeated the same day. The mean total error for the radiographic procedure and analysis was 0.38 mm. The intra-observer error for the determination of the mandibular height by means of the image analysis procedure was 0.16 mm (analysis error). In 12 other patients pairs of radiographs of the same area of the mandible were made using both a "standard" horizontal X-ray beam direction and an individually determined "optimal" horizontal X-ray beam direction; the maximum difference between these two angulations was plus or minus 7.5 degrees. The effect of this different angulation on the height measurements is comparable to the above-mentioned total error of the measurement procedure (positioning error). An accurate positioning of the patient seems important for reliable measurements. The described radiographic (OLCR) and analysis (IBAS) technique can be used relatively simply for clinical studies. The described methods appear to be useful for measuring the mandibular height in longitudinal studies in patients with or without implants.
authors.affiliation: Utrecht University, Dept of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Prosthodontics and Special Dental Care, PO Box 80.037, 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Verhoeven
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Cune
mesh_terms: D002508:Cephalometry / Q000379:methods*; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous; D015921:Dental Implants; D006801:Humans; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015588:Observer Variation; D011187:Posture; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D015921:Dental Implants