Preliminary evaluation of cone beam computed tomography in three-dimensional cephalometry for clinical application

The present study was conducted to evaluate the three-dimensional (3D) cephalometry accuracy of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). A total of 40 newly diagnosed orthodontic patients (including 18 males and 22 females; age range, 12-18 years) were subjected to CBCT scanning and X-ray imaging in order to obtain lateral cephalograms. The 3D CBCT cephalograms were reconstructed and measured with in vivo 5.1 software, and compared with the results from the conventional 2D lateral cephalograms. Measurements in the two images were performed twice using the Steiner and Tweed standards and a single analyzer paired t-test was used to analyze the differences between the two cephalometric methods. The results indicated that the two methods showed significant differences in all 12 angle and 5 linear measurements (P<0.05). These findings indicated that CBCT is a more accurate technique compared with the conventional 2D method. In conclusion, CBCT may provide diagnostic and treatment information for maxillofacial deformities by using fast computer-aided analysis platform.