Estimation of dental caries in patients undergone head computed tomography

Abstract

Background: The World Dental Federation and World Health Organization (WHO) have indicated that more than 200 diseases are caused by the dental caries. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the status of dental caries in patients undergone head computed tomography. Materials and Methods: The images of 300 patients, whounderwent head CT imaging at MNUMS’s Mongolia Japan Hospital and National Trauma and orthopedic research center, were reviewed. All examinations were performed with 160 slices (Canon Aquilion Prime) and 64 slices (Philips Brilliance) CT scanners, respectively. Scan parameters were 160 x 1.0 mm collimation, table speed/rotation time 12.5 mm/0.3 sec, 1.0 mm section thickness, 100-120 kV, and 150-360 mA. The total of 300 head CT images reviewed the images estimation on dental status (thin axial, coronal sections, reformatted dental panoramic image, and 3D volume rendered images). Results: Female: male ratio was 137 (45.7%) : 163 (54.3%). The mean age of participants was 36.3 ± 13.7 years. In terms of educational level, 137 (45.7%) had bachelor or higher degree, 112 (37.3%) were high school graduates, 38 (12.7%) had secondary education and 13 (4.3%) had primary education. According to our study result, prevalence of dental caries among participants was 47.3% (n=142), periapical inflammation 22.7% (n=68) and periapical cyst was 1.3% (n=4).There was a significant association exists between the participants’ dental caries and educational level and it was statistically significant (p=0.011). Contrarily, age and gender of the participants weren’t significantly relevant to their dental health problems. Conclusion: 1. This study demonstrated that dental caries 142 (47.3%), periapical inflammation 68 (22.7%) and periapical cyst 4 (1.3%) were found to be high in our randomly selected participants who had head imaging studies performed for indications not related to the teeth. 2. This study indicated that there was statistically significant association between education level of participants and the prevalence of dental caries (p=0.01).