Radiological evaluation of maxillofacial soft tissue calcifications with cone beam computed tomography and panoramic radiography

Abstract

We aimed to present the radiologic characteristics of maxillofacial soft tissue calcifications with a comparison of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and panoramic radiography (PR) findings. The study was based on CBCT images obtained for different purposes between October 2017 and September 2018. The absence, location and radiological characteristics of some calcifications were evaluated in 252 patients. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS version 21.0; p < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. Palatine tonsilloliths were the most common calcifications in our study. Calcifications were most frequent in the sixth decade of life. Females had larger calcifications than males. There was a relationship between the sizes measured by CBCT and PR for tonsilloliths. In PR, region 2 had significantly more calcifications compared with the other regions. The C2 vertebral level was the most common region for tonsilloliths based on CBCT. Tonsilloliths have a high prevalence. The regular peripheral type had a higher risk of being a tonsillolith in PR. The peripheral/internal characteristics and the dimensions of calcifications between the two imaging modalities were in harmony. The location of calcification in PR and CBCT was important to distinguish the type of calcification.