Comparison of Diagnostic Accuracy of Panoramic Radiography to CBCT in Maxillary Sinus Diseases

We aimed to compare the effectiveness of panoramic radiography (PR) and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in radiographic diagnosis of maxillary sinus (MS) diseases. MS diseases (mucosal thickening, mucus retention cyst, polyp sinusitis, mucocele and tumoral formations) was carried out on both PR and CBCT images belonging to 625 patients. Analyzes were performed separately for right and left maxillary sinus, and total of 1250 PR and CBCT images. While a diagnosis of disease was made in 42.96% of a total of 1250 MS according to CBCT. According to PR, diagnosis was made in 58.72%. The 537 diagnoses where lesion presence was determined on CBCT in our study were compared over PR, and it was observed that, there was the right diagnosis (true positive) in 106 (19.73%) of these including respectively mucus retention cyst (n = 88), polyp (n = 16), 1 sinusitis and 1 tumor, and there was an incorrect diagnosis (false positive) in 221 (41.15%). In 42.92% of the MS that were identified as healthy based on CBCT, the correct diagnosis was also made on PR (true negative). The use of CBCT instead of PR in the diagnosis of pathological or inflammatory diseases contributes to a more accurate radiographic differential diagnosis.