Low-dose CT protocol for orthodontic diagnosis.
- Publication date
- Publisher
- Masson
Abstract
AIM: This was to correlate the dosimetric evaluation with high diagnostic
accuracy by suggesting a protocol that significantly reduces the dose
administered by a Dentascan exam without affecting diagnostic accuracy.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: 17 patients were selected consecutively (7 males and 10
females) of a mean age of 11.2 (8-14 years) who sought orthodontic treatment.
They needed CT control before and after treatment with RME to evaluate impacted
canines. The study was performed using a multidetector 16-rows CT with two
protocols that provided 2 different KV acquisition parameters: 80 KV or 120 KV.
Radiation dose was evaluated in two ways: CTDI and DLP. Image quality was rated
and the results were compared to identify significant differences in terms of
image quality, radiation exposure and presence of artefacts.
RESULTS: The 80 KV scanning has a significantly lower effective radiation dose
compared to the 120 KV scanning (p <0.05). The images of all patients were used
for comparing the protocols in terms of image quality. The mean scores for the 80
KV scanning images were 4.18 +/-0.81 and 4.41 +/-0.80 for dose obtained by 120 KV
scanning. The median image quality was 4 (good) for both protocols. The 80 KV
protocol allowed, as well as the 120 KV, a careful analysis by the orthodontist
and the dental surgeon that together, based on this images, can choose the best
line of treatment between several available options.
CONCLUSION: 80 KV protocols compared with 120 KV protocols resulted in reduced
total radiation dose without relevant loss of diagnostic image information and
quality. The images were good enough to obtain information about the exact
position of impacted teeth and to plan the best line of surgical treatment and
mechanotherapy strategy