title: Image accuracy of plain film radiography and computerized tomography in assessing morphological abnormality of impacted teeth.
abstract: This study compares the image accuracy of computerized tomography (CT) with that of plain film radiography (PFR) in analyzing the 3-dimensional shape of impacted teeth suspected of being malformed. Eighteen patients with 22 malformed teeth were studied by PFR and CT. Crown shape, root shape, crown/root relationship, and tooth inclination and structure were assessed by PFR and CT. CT was found to be superior to PFR in showing the multiplanar shape of tooth crown and root, crown/root relationship, and tooth inclination (P <.001). No difference was found in the representation of tooth structures. The findings demonstrate that CT imaging is useful to diagnose and plan treatment for patients with unerupted and malformed teeth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Soroka Medical Center, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 151, Beer-Sheva 84101, Israel. lbodner@bgumail.ac.il
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bodner
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bar-Ziv
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Becker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011861:Radiography, Dental; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014071:Tooth Abnormalities / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019228:Tooth Crown / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014092:Tooth Root / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014095:Tooth, Impacted / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*