title: Evaluation of calcified carotid atheroma on panoramic radiographs and Doppler ultrasonography in an older population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to determine the reliability of panoramic radiograph (PR) as a screening tool for the detection of calcified carotid atheroma (CCA) by comparing it with Doppler ultrasonography (DU) examination. A second aim was to evaluate the relationship among CCA, systemic diseases, smoking, and body mass index in an older population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1,650 PRs of patients aged over 45 years (736 males and 914 females) were randomly selected. All the patients had been referred to the Faculty of Dentistry, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey, during 2013-2014 for routine PR screening. Medical data were collected from the archival records of the dental school. The patients were divided into two groups: Group A (study group), CCA findings were confirmed by DU (n=59); and Group B (control group), CCA findings were not confirmed by DU (n=34).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1,650 individuals, 93 (5.63%) were detected to have CCA on PR. The population consisted of 43 males and 50 females with mean age of 59.84±10.92 years. No difference was determined in respect of CCA between the sexes (P=0.745). There was a significant difference between Group A and Group B in respect of hypertension (P=0.004). But there was no difference between Group A and Group B in respect of age (P=0.495), BMI (P=0.756), diabetes (P=0.168), and smoking (P=0.482) distribution.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although PR cannot be used as an initial diagnostic method when searching for CCA, dentists should be aware of CCA on a routine PR, particularly in older patients who may also have the risk factors of obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and smoking. Recognizing of CCA especially in hypertensive patients could potentially increase the length and quality of life for individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Atalay
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Asutay
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Dicle University, Diyarbakır, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kamil Serkan
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Agacayak
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Adıyaman University, Adıyaman, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mahmut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koparal
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fahri
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Adali
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Dicle University, Diyarbakır, Turkey.
authors.forename: Belgin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gulsun
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015897:Comorbidity; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D014421:Turkey; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler
keywords: atherosclerosis; calcified carotid atheroma; panoramic radiograph; risk factors; ultrasonography