Preliminary experience with black bone magnetic resonance imaging for morphometry of the mandible and visualisation of the facial skeleton.

Background: Children with orofacial deformity may require repeated imaging of the facial skeleton.

Objective: To test the feasibility and accuracy of "black bone" magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for assessing facial deformity in children.

Materials And Methods: Three-dimensional (3-D) black bone gradient echo sequences (flip angle 5°, submillimetre spatial resolution) from 10 children (median age: 13 years, range: 2-16 years), who underwent MRI of the temporomandibular joints, were evaluated with multiplanar reconstruction and 3-D rendering tools.