Is There Any Difference Between Gonial Angle Values Measured on Digital Lateral Cephalograms and Orthopantomograms?

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Orthodontics
• Radiology

Background:

• Accurate assessment of the gonial angle (GoAng) is crucial in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning.
• Digital lateral cephalograms (Lat Cephs) are commonly used for GoAng measurement, but digital orthopantomograms (OPGs) may offer a more accessible alternative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the reliability and agreement of gonial angle (GoAng) measurements obtained from digital lateral cephalograms (Lat Cephs) and digital orthopantomograms (OPGs) using specialized software.

Main Methods:

• Digital Lat Cephs and OPGs from 51 orthodontic patients were analyzed using TotalCeph software for GoAng measurements.
• Paired t-tests and Bland-Altman analysis were employed to assess differences and agreement between the two imaging modalities.
• Intraobserver reliability was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Main Results:

• Intraobserver reliability for GoAng measurements was excellent (ICC=0.99).
• No statistically significant differences were found between GoAng values measured on digital Lat Cephs and OPGs (p=0.1).
• Bland-Altman analysis indicated high agreement between the two methods, with a mean bias of -0.4°.

Conclusions:

• Digital orthopantomograms (OPGs) demonstrate comparable reliability to digital lateral cephalograms (Lat Cephs) for software-based gonial angle (GoAng) measurements.
• OPGs can be considered a reliable alternative imaging modality for GoAng assessment in orthodontic contexts.