Open AccessPrevalence of soft tissue calcifications in CBCT images from the Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Service at UNAB, Viña del Mar, Chile.
Author(s) -
Patricio Meléndez-Rojas,
Leniz Arancibia-Mesas,
Carolina Poblete-Carrasco
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of oral research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.127
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 0719-2479
pISSN - 0719-2460
DOI - 10.17126/joralres.2020.090
Subject(s) - cone beam computed tomography , soft tissue , medicine , oral and maxillofacial radiology , radiology , hard tissue , oral and maxillofacial surgery , computed tomography , population , head and neck , dentistry , surgery , environmental health
Soft tissue calcifications can indicate the presence of more serious, potentially life-threatening pathologies. Therefore, their study can lead to an early diagnosis of those conditions that have not yet become clinically apparent. Main objective: To determine the prevalence of calcifications in soft tissues of the head and neck in cone beam computed tomography images obtained from the Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Service at Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB), Viña del Mar, Chile. Material and Methods: Retrospective, cross-sectional, quantitative study. A total of 288 images of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) were used. Images were obtained at random from the database of the Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Service at UNAB, Viña Del Mar, between 2014 and 2019. Results: A prevalence of 59.72% of soft tissue calcifications was obtained. The most prevalent were: tonsilloliths and calcified stylohyoid ligament, accounting for 30.65% and 45.56%, respectively. Conclusion: A high prevalence of soft tissue calcifications was found in a population that has not been studied previously; therefore, it is important that the dentist perform a detailed analysis of the cone beam computed tomography.