Accuracy of computerized tomography for the evaluation of mandibular sites prior to implant placement

The objective of the present study was to observe the effect of positioning of the mandible on the accuracy of cross-sectional images obtained by reformatting computerized tomographic (CT) scans. An additional aim was to evaluate the ability of a software program (DentalVox, Era Scientific) to reconstruct these measurements on the reformatted images, regardless of the positioning of the mandible, accurately and without distortion. The test was carried out by examining a partially edentulous dry human mandible with an acrylic radiologic template. Through the use of an acrylic glass support, the mandible was positioned at angles of 0, 10, 15, 20, and 30 degrees relative to the scanning gantry, and a series of CT scans was performed that provided five sets of axial images. Each set of original axial images was reformatted by the DentalVox software, used first in its basic function, which is typical of all software for axial CT measurement (control group), and again in its function of site-specific multiplanar reconstruction (test group). The results showed that the position of the mandible in relation to the CT gantry can influence the precision of the linear measurements. The error ranged from 2% to 51%. The DentalVox software allowed the reconstruction of cross-sectional images with very little distortion regardless of the mandibular position.