Bone Trabecular Pattern Analysis in Odontogenic Cysts Using Cone Beam Computed Tomography: A Clinical Retrospective...

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
• Dental Imaging Analysis
• Pathology of Odontogenic Cysts

Background:

• Odontogenic cysts are common maxillofacial pathologies.
• Radiography aids diagnosis and treatment evaluation, but manual analysis is error-prone.
• Fractal analysis (FA) offers a mathematical method to analyze radiographic image complexity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess fractal characteristics of radicular cysts (RC), dentigerous cysts (DC), and odontogenic keratocysts (OKC) using CBCT.
• To calculate fractal dimension (FD) values for each cyst type.
• To evaluate FD as a potential radiological adjunct for diagnosing these cysts.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of CBCT images from patients with histopathologically confirmed RC, DC, and OKC.
• Fractal analysis performed using Image J software.
• Cortical and cancellous bones segmented, converted to binary images, and mean FD calculated across three planes.
• One-way ANOVA used to compare FD values between cyst types.

Main Results:

• Mean FD values: DC (1.33 ± 0.17), RC (1.08 ± 0.16), and OKC (1.65 ± 0.12).
• OKC exhibited higher FD values than DC and RC, suggesting less bone destruction.
• One-way ANOVA showed a statistically significant difference between FD values (p=0.03).

Conclusions:

• CBCT-based fractal analysis reveals distinct bone parameter alterations in different odontogenic cysts.
• Higher FD values in OKC correlate with less cortical bone destruction.
• Findings suggest potential implications for diagnosing, treating, and prognosticating odontogenic cysts.