Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 7, 2026
Guided Endodontics: Three-Dimensional Planning and Template-Aided Preparation of Endodontic Access Cavities
Published on: May 24, 2022
3D reconstruction of the target tooth occlusal surface from a single-view image for root canal surgical navigation
1School of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, China.
Background:
In robotic endodontic navigation, preoperative cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) provides root canal information, whereas intraoperative vision usually provides only single-view tooth surface images. This study aimed to reconstruct the target tooth occlusal surface from a single visible-light image as a geometric interface for CBCT registration and root canal information mapping.
Methods:
A statistical shape model (SSM) was constructed from 50 homologous tooth intraoral scan (IOS) models using curvature-adaptive non-rigid iterative closest point (NICP) registration. For each single-view image, the target tooth region was segmented, illumination interference was suppressed, and fissure features were enhanced. The extracted texture cues were converted into a bounded pseudo-height field and injected into the statistical template under top-surface gating and vertex stability weighting.
Results:
On the occlusal region of interest (ROI), the proposed method achieved a root mean square distance (RMSD) of 0.432 mm, average symmetric surface distance (ASSD) of 0.308 mm, Hausdorff distance (HD) of 2.540 mm, Chamfer distance (CD) of 0.466 mm2, and Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of 0.340. It outperformed the selected single-view comparison method in surface error metrics. Ablation experiments further showed that illumination normalization, stability weighting, and accurate segmentation contributed to improved reconstruction stability and detail recovery.
Conclusions:
The proposed method reconstructs an anatomically constrained occlusal surface from a single-view image and provides a practical geometric interface for subsequent CBCT registration and root canal information mapping. It does not directly reconstruct the root canal anatomy or replace CBCT-based canal identification. Current validation remains limited to dental models, limited sample diversity, and intact or nearly intact occlusal morphology; altered clinical crowns require further evaluation.
