Comparative study of Puricelli’s panorametry in conventional panoramic radiography and cone beam computed tomography panoramic reconstruction

Abstract

Objectives: to compare the reproducibility of Puricelli’s panorametry on conventional panoramic radiography and on CBCT reformatted panoramic images, acquired in MIP mode. This study also compared linear and angular measurements between both exams. Methods: were evaluated 54 pairs of conventional panoramic radiography and CBCT panoramic MIP reconstructions. panorametry was manually traced, in both films, by three examiners. The originally proposed linear and angular, dental and skeletal measurements where tabulated and compared between imaging methods. Inter-examiner reproducibility was tested by intraclass correlation coefficient, and the differences between measurements of both methods were analyzed by Student’s t test. Results: the inter-examiner correlation was high for both the conventional panoramic radiography and CBCT panoramic MIP reconstructions (0.86±0.07 and 0.88±0.07, respectively). Total magnification of pano-ramic radiograph, for the studied measurements, was of 4.3%, being vertically higher (12%) and to the horizontal inferior line (11.5%) comparing to the angular measurements of straight lines (6.7%) and to the horizontal superior lines (1.9%). The conventional panoramic radiography, in comparison to the CBCT, presented lower values for most angular measurements. Conclusions: Puricelli’s panorametry presents a high degree of reproducibility in both conventional panoramic radiography and CBCT reformatted panoramic images. Conventional panoramic radiography presents augmented linear and angular skeletal measurements and reduced dental angular measurements when compared to CBCT reformatted panoramic images. Conventional panoramic radiographs seem to present a consistent augmentation of the right side of the mandibular image.