ASSESSMENT OF THE DENTATE ALVEOLAR PROCESS WITH HIGH-RESOLUTION COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY

The present study was undertaken to determine quantitatively the accur acy of modern high-resolution computed tomography (HR-CT) in imaging p eriodontal defects in vitro by means of comparative radiological and h istological studies. The soft tissue and metallic restorations were re moved from four mandibular and maxillary jaw segments. Eighteen lingua l and buccal defects of different dimensions were artificially created over the roots of the teeth. Dental radiographs and 1.0 mm contiguous axial and coronal HR-CT scans were obtained. Histological specimens w ere prepared in the same plane as the CT scans. A quantitative analysi s of the periodontal regions on the CT scans was feasible when the alv eolar bone was 0.5 mm thick. A visible periodontal ligament space was found to improve the reliability of the measurement of buccal or lingu al bone plates up to 0.2 mm thick or of the artificial dehiscences. In the axial HR-CT scans, 70% of the artificial defects could be identif ied, and in the coronal scans, 50%. In contrast, none of the defects c ould be evaluated on conventional dental radiographs. It is concluded that HR-CT scanning could be useful in assessing buccal and lingual al veolar bone morphology and in diagnosing larger dehiscences.