title: Diagnostic Accuracy of Cone-beam Computed Tomography and Conventional Radiography on Apical Periodontitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Endodontic diagnosis depends on accurate radiographic examination. Assessment of the location and extent of apical periodontitis (AP) can influence treatment planning and subsequent treatment outcomes. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the diagnostic accuracy of conventional radiography and cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) imaging on the discrimination of AP from no lesion.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight electronic databases with no language or time limitations were searched. Articles in which the primary objective was to evaluate the accuracy (sensitivity and specificity) of any type of radiographic technique to assess AP in humans were selected. The gold standard was the histologic examination for actual AP (in vivo) or in situ visualization of bone defects for induced artificial AP (in vitro). Accuracy measurements described in the studies were transformed to construct receiver operating characteristic curves and forest plots with the aid of Review Manager v.5.2 (The Nordic Cochrane Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark) and MetaDisc v.1.4. software (Unit of Clinical Biostatistics Team of the Ramón y Cajal Hospital, Madrid, Spain). The methodology of the selected studies was evaluated using the Quality Assessment Tool for Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only 9 studies met the inclusion criteria and were subjected to a qualitative analysis. A meta-analysis was conducted on 6 of these articles. All of these articles studied artificial AP with induced bone defects. The accuracy values (area under the curve) were 0.96 for CBCT imaging, 0.73 for conventional periapical radiography, and 0.72 for digital periapical radiography. No evidence was found for panoramic radiography.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Periapical radiographs (digital and conventional) reported good diagnostic accuracy on the discrimination of artificial AP from no lesions, whereas CBCT imaging showed excellent accuracy values.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Dentistry, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Electronic address: kamileldutra@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kamile
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Leonardi Dutra
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Dentistry, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
authors.forename: Letícia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Applied Oral Sciences, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: André Luís
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Porporatti
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Flores-Mir
authors.affiliation: Faculté de Medicine Dentaire, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nascimento Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil; Brazilian Centre for Evidence-based Research, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luis André
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Mezzomo
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
authors.forename: Márcio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corrêa
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Department of Dentistry, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil; Brazilian Centre for Evidence-based Research, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
authors.forename: Graziela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Luca Canto
mesh_terms: D054893:Cone-Beam Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010485:Periapical Periodontitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D019252:Radiography, Dental, Digital / Q000379:methods*; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic / Q000379:methods; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D019227:Tooth Apex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
keywords: X-ray computed tomographic imaging; dental radiography; diagnosis; meta-analysis; periapical periodontitis; review; sensitivity; specificity