• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2020

Purpose: This study was conducted to objectively and subjectively compare the accuracy and reliability of 2-dimensional(2D) photography and 3-dimensional(3D) soft tissue imaging. Materials and Methods: Facial images of 50 volunteers(25 males, 25 females) were captured with a Nikon D800 2D camera (Nikon Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), 3D stereophotogrammetry (SPG), and laser scanning (LS). All subjects were imaged in a relaxed, closed-mouth position with a normal smile. The 2D images were then exported to Mirror^® Software (Canfield Scientific, Inc, NJ, USA) and the 3D images into Proplan CMF^® software (version 2.1, Materialise HQ, Leuven, Belgium) for further evaluation. For an objective evaluation, 2 observers identified soft tissue landmarks and performed linear measurements on subjects' faces (direct measurements) and both linear and angular measurements on all images(indirect measurements). For a qualitative analysis, 10 dental observers and an expert in facial imaging (subjective gold standard) completed a questionnaire regarding facial characteristics. The reliability of the quantitative data was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients, whereas the Fleiss kappa was calculated for qualitative data. Results: Linear and angular measurements carried out on 2D and 3D images showed excellent inter-observer and intra-observer reliability. The 2D photographs displayed the highest combined total error for linear measurements. SPG performed better than LS, with borderline significance (P=0.052). The qualitative assessment showed no significant differences among the 2D and 3D imaging modalities. Conclusion: SPG was found to a reliable and accurate tool for the morphological evaluation of soft tissue in comparison to 2D imaging and laser scanning.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.98-107
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• 2011

Caries remains prevalent throughout modern society and is the main disease in the field of dentistry. Although studies of this disease have used diverse methodology, recently, X-ray microtomography has gained popularity as a non-destructive, 3-dimensional (3D) analytical technique, and has several advantages over the conventional methods. According to X-ray source, it is classified as monochromatic or polychromatic with the latter being more widely used due to the high cost of the monochromatic source despite some advantages. The determination of mineral density profiles based on changes in X-ray attenuation is the principle of this method and calibration and image processing procedures are needed for the better image and reproducible measurements. Using this tool, 3D reconstruction is also possible and it enables to visualize the internal structures of dental caries. With the advances in the computer technology, more diverse applications are being studied, such automated caries assessment algorithms.