Use of Large-volume Cone-Beam Computed Tomography in Identification and Localization of Horizontal Root Fracture in the Presence and Absence of Intracanal Metallic Post

Abstract

IntroductionThe objective of the study was to evaluate the ability of large-volume cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) to detect horizontal root fracture and to test the influence of a metallic post. MethodsThrough the examination of 40 teeth by large-volume CBCT (20-cm height and 15-cm diameter cylinder) at 0.2-mm voxel resolution, 2 observers analyzed the samples for the presence and localization of horizontal root fracture. ResultsThe values of accuracy in the groups that had no metallic post ranged from 33%–68%, whereas for the samples with the metallic post, values showed a wide variation (38%–83%). Intraobserver agreement showed no statistically significant difference between the groups with/without metallic post; both ranged from very weak to weak (kappa, 0.09–0.369). ConclusionsThe low accuracy and low intraobserver and interobserver agreement reflect the difficulty in performing an adequate diagnosis of horizontal root fractures through a large-volume CBCT by using a small voxel reconstruction.