Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2025
Author Spotlight: Advancing CBCT and Digital Dental Image Integration with AI-Assisted Digitization
Published on: February 23, 2024
Identification and classification of pulp calcifications in posterior teeth according to dental condition using
Poliana Santos Gonçalves1, Amanda Pelegrin Candemil1, Igor Bassi Ferreira Petean1
1Department of Restorative Dentistry, Ribeirão Preto School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-904, Brazil.
Objective:
To compare digital panoramic radiography (DPR) and cone beam CT (CBCT) in the detection and classification of pulp calcifications in posterior teeth in relation to tooth condition and its location.
Methods:
Two hundred and fifty patients with simultaneous DPR and CBCT scans were selected from a dental image bank. For each posterior tooth, its condition was registered (healthy, restored, or decayed). The presence of calcifications was assessed and classified according to location (coronal or radicular) and type (total obliteration, partial obliteration, narrowing, and no calcification). Chi-square and McNemar tests were used to compare DPR and CBCT results, with a significance level of 5%. DPR diagnostic values were calculated using CBCT as reference.
Results:
Decayed and restored teeth showed a significantly (P < .001) higher prevalence of pulp calcifications than healthy teeth in both imaging exams. There was a significant discrepancy between the imaging modalities in the identification of calcifications (P < .001), especially for radicular calcifications of maxillary teeth (DPR = 55.2%; CBCT = 30.9%). In the case of coronal calcifications, there was a greater discrepancy between CBCT and DPR in the mandibular teeth (10.7%) than in the maxillary teeth (7.7%). Overall, DPR presents higher sensitivity (0.855) than specificity (0.483) for pulp calcifications detection.
Conclusion:
DPR considerably overestimates pulp calcifications in posterior teeth, as compared to CBCT. A higher prevalence of pulp calcifications is related to decayed and restored teeth.
