DIAGNOSIS OF INFRA-ALVEOLAR BONY LESIONS IN THE DENTATE ALVEOLAR PROCESS WITH HIGH-RESOLUTION COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY - EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. Conventional intraoral radiography was compa red with axial computed tomography (CT) scans for identification and c lassification of bony pockets in dentate jaw segments. METHODS. Fifty- five artificial bone defects were produced in six dentate jaw segments , The jaws were examined radiographically using a dental x-ray unit an d by contiguous axial CT scans, Identification, classification, and ve rtical depth of the bony defects were compared among the specimens, ra diographs, and CT scans. RESULTS. On the intraoral radiographs, 38 (69 %) bony lesions were identified, and the vertical depth was underestim ated by a mean of 2.2 mm, compared with the objective measurements on the jaws, In contrast, all artificial bony lesions (100%) were identif ied and classified on the axial CT scans and the vertical depth was un derestimated by a mean of 0.5 mm. CONCLUSIONS. High-resolution CT impr oves the identification and metric assessment of the vertical dimensio n of infra-alveolar bony lesions compared with conventional intraoral xray films and allows these defects to be classified according to the number of existing walls into one-walled, two-walled, and three-walled bony pockets, In patients with apically extended metallic restoration s, the image quality could be limited by artifacts.