Evaluation of two methods of tracings for implants in panoramic radiographs

In the last years, computer programs have appeared in order to help dental practitioners in implants planning. These programs aim to facilitate the acquisition of adequate measures in digitalized radiographs. The aims of this study were: to evaluate the intra-examiner agreement in the acquisition of measures using two methods (manual and computer program - Radioimp), comparing their performances. Three examiners analyzed twenty-one panoramic radiographs. They used the two methods in two occasions. In the manual method, the examiners made a tracing on a paper fixed to the images and measured nine regions with a caliper. The images were digitalized and showed in a computer screen to be analyzed in the computer program. The examiners acquired measures of the same regions by the manual method. Vertical measures of spheres in the images were acquired in order to discount the magnifying factor of the technique. Through statistics analysis (p=.05), it was possible to conclude that there were differences in intra-examiner agreement and the examiners had greater difficulty in reproducing the measures when they used the computer program; the measures acquired by the manual method were closer to the real ones.