Abstract
A correct diagnosis in dental medicine is typically provided only after clinical and radiological evaluations. They are also required for treatment assessments. The aim of this study is to establish the boundaries from which a modern, although established, imaging technique, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), is more suitable than the common X-ray radiography to assess dental issues and treatments. The most common methods for daily-basis clinical imaging are utilized in this study for extracted teeth (but also for other dental samples and materials), i.e., panoramic, intraoral radiography, and three-dimensional (3D) cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). The advantages of using OCT as an imaging method in dentistry are discussed, with a focus on its superior image resolution. Drawbacks related to its limited penetration depth and Field-of-View (FOV) are pointed out. High-quality radiological investigations are performed, measurements are done, and data collected. The same teeth and samples are also imaged (mostly) with an in-house developed Swept Source (SS)-OCT system, Master-Slave enhanced. Some of the OCT investigations employed two other in-house developed OCT systems, Spectral Domain (SD) and Time Domain (TD). Dedicated toolbars from Romexis software (Planmeca, Helsinki, Finland) are used to perform measurements using both radiography and OCT. Clinical conclusions are drawn from the investigations. Upsides and downsides of the two medical imaging techniques are concluded for each type of considered diagnosis. For treatment assessments, it is concluded that OCT is more appropriate than radiography in all applications, except bone-related investigations and periodontitis that demand data from higher-penetration depths than possible with the current level of OCT technology.
Highlights
Dentistry has been evolving fast in the last few decades through technological advances in both diagnosis and treatment [1,2,3]
Panoramic radiography is the first method that can be performed, as it has the advantage of providing an ample perspective of the full mouth of a patient in a few seconds of investigation, For a correct diagnosis, patients must be checked both clinically and radiologically
A 3D Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) has to be performed in such situations because in addition to a qualitative assessment, it offers volumetric information
Summary
Dentistry has been evolving fast in the last few decades through technological advances in both diagnosis and treatment [1,2,3]. The most common methods for daily-basis clinical imaging in dental medicine are intraoral and panoramic radiography, as well as three-dimensional (3D) Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). One of their drawbacks is the patients’ concern with being exposed to X-ray radiation, which is ionizing and harmful for living tissue. In this respect, the radiation dose must be properly calculated by technical personnel for every method [8], while X-ray units and investigations must be improved to reduce the radiation dose [9]. Some dental issues cannot be correctly assessed, whatever the type of radiography nor using visual observation
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