Some scan setting selections impact the visibility of a root canal when using cone-beam CT, while others are less relevant, according to a study in Dentomaxillofacial Radiology (December 2012, Vol. 41:8, pp. 645-648).
Researchers from the Academic Centre of Dentistry Amsterdam scanned one human mandible cadaver with an Accuitomo 170 (J. Morita MPG) using six different fields-of-view (FOV) (4 x 4 cm, 6 x 6 cm, 8 x 8 cm, 10 x 10 cm, 14 x 10 cm, and 17 x 12 cm) with either 360 or 180 projections in standard and high resolution. The right canine was selected for evaluation.
FOV and number of projections selections had a significant influence on root canal visibility (p = 0.0001), the researchers reported, while scan mode was less relevant (p = 0.34).
The smallest FOV available should always be used for endodontic applications, and it is not recommended to reduce the number of projections to 180, they concluded.
