Comparative efficacy of spiral computed tomography and
orthopantomography in preoperative detection of relation of inferior alveolar neurovascular bundle to the impacted mandibular third molar.
There were no bony changes in the
orthopantomography and occlusal radiography examinations, and all of the associated teeth were shown to be vital using electrical pulp testing (Figure 1).
Caption: Figure 1: (a) Initial
orthopantomography. (b) Preoperative clinical view.
Orthopantomography was indicated and revealed five impacted teeth and, in the mandibular arch, fused roots of left lateral incisor and left canine (Figure 3).
Caption: Figure 3: Orthopantomography revealed multiple dental anomalies: hypodontia, radicular fusion of 3.2-3.3, and impacted permanent teeth.
After sectioning the old prosthesis, the affected tooth was atraumatically extracted, and an
orthopantomography (OPT) was collected (Figure 3).
The
orthopantomography was considered for a long time the ideal examination, but it has now been replaced by the CT scan because sometimes only 3D imaging allows identifying the problem [7-10].