Evaluation of the accuracy of cone beam computed tomography on measuring impacted supernumerary teeth

Supernumerary teeth may affect the tooth eruption negatively if they occur on the eruption way, and the treatment choice is usually the extraction to prevent the impaction of adjacent permanent teeth. CBCT enables clear and three dimensional images, and it may be helpful to determine the exact location and to measure the dimensions of the supernumerary tooth to avoid any complication during the extraction process. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the accuracy of CBCT on measuring the tooth length and crown width of impacted supernumerary teeth. Twenty-five impacted supernumerary teeth were evaluated using CBCT, and each sample's tooth length and crown width were measured prior to the extraction. After all the extractions were completed, the actual measurements were performed on the same samples. The differences between CBCT and actual measurements were evaluated statistically. Measurements on CBCT images were significantly larger than the actual measurements on tooth length and crown width. For tooth length and crown width, p value was found as 0.045, and <0.001, respectively. The results of the present study should be considered as important by clinicians during the treatment planning to decrease any complication risk under certain conditions such as being so close to an important anatomical structure or the root of an adjacent tooth. SCANNING 38:579-584, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.