INFLAMMATORY DISEASE OF THE JAW - APPEARANCE ON REFORMATTED CT SCANS

OBJECTIVE. Before the development of dental CT reformatting software, much of the radiographic assessment of the mandible and maxilla was pe rformed in the dentist's office using plain radiographs. The widesprea d use of dental reformatting software, however, has caused the radiolo gist to take a more active role in evaluating the jaw. Unfortunately, most radiologists have had little experience in this area, and many of the CT findings are undescribed. Our objective, therefore, was to det ermine the CT appearance of dental-related inflammatory disease of the jaw and to discuss the mechanisms causing such disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Reformatted CT scans of 400 patients referred for dental imp lant assessment were evaluated for abnormalities related to infection of dental origin, inflammation of dental origin, or both. The diagnosi s was confirmed by surgery, clinical presentation, classic plain film appearance, or a combination of the three. RESULTS. The following dise ase processes were identified and described: periodontal lesions, peri apical lesions, condensing osteitis, disuse bone atrophy associated wi th edentia, and maxillary sinus abnormalities associated with dental d isease. CONCLUSION. Inflammatory diseases of the jaw and their sequela e are frequently seen on CT scans of patients referred for examination before dental implantation. Because radiologists now take an active r ole in evaluating the jaw, they need to become familiar with these fin dings.