Comparison of Cone Beam Computed Tomography and Multi Slice Computed Tomography Image Quality of Human Dried Mandible using 10 Anatomical Landmarks.

Introduction: Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) has gained a broad acceptance in dentomaxillofacial imaging. Computed Tomography (CT) is another imaging modality for diagnosis and preoperative assessments of the head and neck region.

Aim: Considering the increased radiation exposure and high cost of CT, this study sought to subjectively assess the image quality of CBCT and Multi Slice CT (MSCT).

Materials And Methods: A dry human mandible was scanned by five CBCT systems (New Tom 3G, Scanora, CRANEX 3D, Promax and Galileos) and one MSCT system. Three independent oral and maxillofacial radiologists reviewed the CBCT and MSCT scans for the quality of 10 landmarks namely mental foramen, trabecular bone, Periodontal Ligament (PDL), dentin, incisive canal, mandibular canal, dental pulp, enamel, lamina dura and cortical bone using a five-point scale.

Results: Significant differences were found between MSCT and CBCT and among the five CBCT systems (p<0.05) in visualization of different anatomical structures. A fine structure such as the incisive canal was significantly less visible and more variable among the systems in comparison with other anatomical landmarks such as the mental foramen, mandibular canal, cortical bone, dental pulp, enamel and dentin (p<0.05). The Cranex 3D and Promax systems were superior to MSCT and all other CBCT systems in visualizing anatomical structures.

Conclusion: The CBCT image quality was superior to that of MSCT even though some variability existed among different CBCT systems in visualizing fine structures. Considering the low radiation dose and high resolution, CBCT may be beneficial for dentomaxillofacial imaging.