Reliability of spiral tomography on the alveolar crest

나선형 단층 방사선사진에서 치조정 판독 신뢰도

Purpose: To evaluate the reliability of measurements in spiral tomography through assessing the visibility of the alveolar crest and the measurements between the alveolar crest and other anatomic structures. Materials and Methods: 110 spiral tomograms of the jaws were taken by Scanora X-ray unit from the patients. The visibility of the alveolar crests was estimated by 3 observers and classified as clearly visible, questionable visibility, or not visible. 3 observers measured the distance between the alveolar crest and the reference points of anatomic structures. The measurements were repeated 2 weeks later. Results: 52.9% of alveolar crests on upper jaws and 61.5% of alveolar crests on lower jaws were visible. The interobserver and intraobserver agreements on the visibility were low. The mean ranges of the measurements were 1.39 mm (SD = 1.37 mm) on maxilla and 1.03 mm (SD = 1.01 mm) on mandible in the interobserver evaluation. The interobserver variance was greater than the intraobserver variance in the measurements of distance. Conclusion: Spiral tomography showed a relatively low reliability in the visibility and measurements of the alveolar crest.