title: A survey of radiographic measurement estimation in assessment of dental implant length.
abstract: The aim of this study is to survey radiographic measurement estimation in the assessment of dental implant length according to dentists' confidence. A 19-point questionnaire with closed-ended questions was used by two graduate students to interview 69 dentists during a dental implant meeting. Included were 12 questions related to over- and underestimation in three radiographic modalities: panoramic (P), conventional tomography (T), and computerized tomography (CT). The database was analyzed by Epi-Info 6.04 software and the values from two radiographic modalities, P and T, were compared using a chi2 test. The results showed that 38.24% of the dentists' confidence was in the overestimation of measurements in P, 30.56% in T, and 0% in CT. On the other hand, considering the underestimated measurements, the percentages were 47.06% in P, 33.33% in T, and 1.92% in CT. The frequency of under- and overestimation were statistically significant (chi2 = 6.32; P = .0425) between P and T. CT was the radiographic modality with higher measurement precision according to dentists' confidence. In conclusion, the interviewed dentists felt that CT was the best radiographic modality when considering the measurement estimation precision in preoperative dental implant assessment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnosis and Surgery, Araraquara Dental School, UNESP, São Paulo State University, Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana Aparecida Najarro Dearo
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: de Morais
authors.forename: Celso Eduardo
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Sakakura
authors.forename: Leonor de Castro Monteiro
authors.initials: Lde C
authors.lastname: Loffredo
authors.forename: Gulnara
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scaf
mesh_terms: D019412:Anatomy, Cross-Sectional; D015921:Dental Implants; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D006801:Humans; D007568:Jaw / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015588:Observer Variation; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014054:Tomography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D015921:Dental Implants