ON THE TRADE-OFF BETWEEN IMAGING DATA AND THE INDICATIONS OF CONE-BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Abstract

Objective: The European Academy of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology (EADMFR) implemented the Safety and Efficacy of a New and Emerging Dental X-ray Modality (SEDENTEXCT) Project in 2009 to determine the basic principles of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) use and established detailed criteria for specializations. One of these principles states that the correct selection of the field of view (FOV) is critical to lowering the effective radiation dose. This study aims to retrospectively analyze CBCT indications and FOV selections as determined by the clinicians in different departments. Materials and Methods: A total of 8,955 patients’ CBCT data acquired between 2015-2019 were retrospectively scanned. Data were collected and evaluated according to criteria such as FOV, acquisition indications, age, and gender. The chi-square test was used to study the differences between groups with regard to the evaluations among categorical variables. Results: A statistically significant difference was found when comparing FOV values with CBCT indications (p = 0.000). Images with the highest FOV value of 240 mm x 165 mm were taken primarily for orthognathic surgery planning. The smallest FOV value of 50 mm x 50 mm was seen to be preferred for apical pathologies and odontogenic cysts. Conclusion: Following the guidelines in the literature, the highest FOV is observed to have been used for cases that cover a larger area, such as is required in orthognathic surgery, while the smallest FOV is observed to be frequently used for endodontic cases performed to evaluate small structures such as root canal morphology and apical pathologies.