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Objectives: This study aimed to assess whether awake bruxism and masticatory muscle activity could be related to external root resorption (ERR) in second molars adjacent to impacted mandibular third molars., Materials and Methods: Sixty patients, with requests for a cone-beam, computed tomography, were divided into two groups: ERR (patients with ERR in the second molar, n = 30), and control group (n = 30). Awake bruxism was assessed through the Oral Behaviors Checklist (OBC) and an ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Surface electromyography (EMG) was used to assess the masseter and anterior temporal muscle function. Normality and homogeneity of variances were demonstrated. Descriptive analysis was performed, using the T-test and Chi-square test to compare the characteristics of the groups. A multiple regression model was performed., Results: The ERR group presented more non-functional oral activities related to awake bruxism than the control group, according to OBC (p = 0.027) and EMA (p = 0.035). In addition, the ERR group had higher EMG activity than the control group in rest and isotonic protocols (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: Awake bruxism and greater masticatory muscle activity seem to be related to the presence of ERR in second molars adjacent to impacted mandibular third molars., Clinical Relevance: The results of the present study can reinforce the theory that triggering ERR in the second molars adjacent to impacted mandibular third molars may be related to mechanical forces coming from the masticatory function., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of peak kilovoltage (kVp) and a metal artifact reduction (MAR) tool on image quality and the diagnosis of vertical root fracture (VRF) in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)., Materials and Methods: Twenty single-rooted human teeth filled with an intracanal metal post were divided into 2 groups: control ( n = 10) and VRF ( n = 10). Each tooth was placed into the socket of a dry mandible, and CBCT scans were acquired using a Picasso Trio varying the kVp (70, 80, 90, or 99), and the use of MAR (with or without). The examinations were assessed by 5 examiners for the diagnosis of VRF using a 5-point scale. A subjective evaluation of the expression of artifacts was done by comparing random axial images of the studied protocols. The results of the diagnoses were analyzed using 2-way analysis of variance and the Tukey post hoc test, the subjective evaluations were compared using the Friedman test, and intra-examiner reproducibility was evaluated using the weighted kappa test (α = 5%)., Results: The kVp and MAR did not influence the diagnosis of VRF ( p > 0.05). According to the subjective classification, the 99 kVp protocol with MAR demonstrated the least expression of artifacts, while the 70 kVp protocol without MAR led to the most artifacts., Conclusions: Protocols with higher kVp combined with MAR improved the image quality of CBCT examinations. However, those factors did not lead to an improvement in the diagnosis of VRF., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported., (Copyright © 2023. The Korean Academy of Conservative Dentistry.)

Objective: To investigate whether the use of cone beam CT (CBCT) changes the diagnosis of external root resorption (ERR) or marginal bone loss (MBL) involving a second molar adjacent to an impacted third molar., Methods: A systematic search was applied in PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, Google Scholar, OpenGrey, and ProQuest. Studies assessing the detection of ERR or MBL in a second molar adjacent to an impacted third molar through CBCT and panoramic radiography (PAN) were included. Prevalence and agreement between PAN and CBCT on the detection of ERR and MBL were collected. The risk of bias was assessed using the MAStARI., Results: A total of 593 papers were identified, and after a 2-phase selection, 5 studies were included in the narrative synthesis. Regarding ERR, its prevalence in PAN was reported from 5.31 to 19.5% and from 22.8 to 62.0% in CBCT. The percentage of agreement varied from 28.5 to 74.0%. The prevalence of MBL varied from 21.9 to 62.9% in PAN, while those values varied from 21.6 to 80% in CBCT images. The percentage of agreement between PAN and CBCT for the detection of MBL ranged from 66.0 to 85.0%. Four studies presented low risk of bias and one had moderate risk., Conclusions: More ERR and MBL are assessed in CBCT compared to PAN. There is a considerable agreement between PAN and CBCT assessment of ERR and MBL, however, mostly related to the absence of the pathology rather its presence.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the influence of ambient lighting levels and horizontal viewing angle (HVA) on the radiographic detection of fractured endodontic instruments in root canals in extracted human mandibular molars., Study Design: Thirty-two root canals were selected. Endodontic instrument fracture was induced in 24 canals, and all canals were endodontially treated. Periapical radiographs were obtained at orthoradial, mesioradial, and distoradial projection angles. Five oral radiologists examined the radiographs for detection of fractured endodontic instruments under 3 ambient lighting levels (high, 450 lux; medium, 28 lux; and low, 2.5 lux) and 3 HVAs (90°, 67.5°, and 45°). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated and compared by 2-way analysis of variance using Tukey post hoc tests (α = .05)., Results: AUROC data indicated that ambient lighting (P = .739) and HVA (P = .238) did not significantly influence the detection of fractured endodontic instruments. Overall mean diagnostic values were 0.745, 0.57, 0.46, and 0.90 for AUROC, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, respectively., Conclusions: The viewing conditions assessed in this study did not influence the radiographic detection of fractured endodontic instruments in root canals., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to calculate the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) for the detection of the presence and continuity of peripheral cortication (PC) around benign intraosseous lesions on panoramic radiography (PR), with cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) as the reference standard., Study Design: The sample consisted of the mesial, distal, superior, and inferior borders of 40 bony lesions (n = 160) depicted on both PR and CBCT. Ten observers assessed the PRs. CBCT images were assessed by 2 radiologists. For each lesion, observers classified the 4 borders with regard to the presence of PC, and if present, its continuity. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were calculated for the presence and continuity of PC. Intra- and interobserver agreements were calculated., Results: PR had sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV for PC detection of 0.844, 0.435, 0.435, and 0.844, respectively. With regard to PC continuity, those values were 0.750, 0.810, 0.577, and 0.904. Observer agreement was slight to fair., Conclusions: The high sensitivity and low specificity for the presence of PC indicate a large false-positive rate. The high NPVs suggest greater validity for negative decisions. The findings corroborate the influence of the eggshell effect. Observer agreement rates indicate that interpretation of PC is substantially subjective., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To assess the influence of subjective enhancement of brightness and contrast of digital panoramic radiographs on the detection of soft tissue calcifications., Materials and Methods: In this observational study, 500 digital panoramic radiographs were evaluated by two examiners in consensus, who scored the images for the presence of calcifications for each right and left side of the image. After 30 days, all images were revaluated under subjective manipulation of digital brightness and contrast. Calcifications were classified based on the diagnostic hypothesis: sialolith, tonsillolith, calcified atheroma, phlebolith, rhinolith, maxillary sinus antrolith, synovial chondromatosis, lymph node calcification, stylohyoid ligament, triticeous cartilage, or/and upper horn of thyroid cartilage calcification. For intra-examiner agreement, 20% of the sample was reevaluated. The Kappa test and McNemar test were used (α = 0.05)., Results: In original images, calcifications were observed in 44.2% of the patients, and in enhanced images, this number was 70.8%. Many calcifications were detected only in enhanced images, mainly in the diagnostic hypotheses of calcified atheroma and stylohyoid ligament. Intra-examiner agreement was excellent for the detection of soft tissue calcifications (0.82) and for the classification (0.81)., Conclusion: Subjective enhancement of brightness and contrast alters the detection of soft tissue calcifications in digital panoramic radiograph., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of periapical radiography assessed under different radiographic brightness and contrast variations in the detection of simulated internal (IRR) and external (ERR) root resorption lesions. Additionally, observers' preferences related to image quality for these diagnostic tasks were evaluated., Methods: Thirty single-root teeth were divided into two groups (n = 15): IRR, in which lesions were simulated using mechanical and biochemical processes; and ERR, in which cavities standardized with drills of different sizes were performed on the root surfaces. Digital radiographs were obtained and subsequently adjusted in 4 additional combinations, resulting in 5 brightness/contrast variations (V1-V5). Five radiologists evaluated the radiographs. The observers' preference on the image quality was also recorded., Results: For both conditions, there were no differences in the accuracy and specificity between the five brightness/contrast variations (p > 0.05), but the sensitivity for ERR was significantly lower in V4 (+ 15% brightness/-15% contrast) in the large size (p < 0.05). The observers classified V2 (- 15% brightness/+15% contrast) as the "best" image quality for IRR and ERR evaluation., Conclusions: For IRR and ERR lesions, brightness and contrast variation does not affect the diagnostic performance of digital intraoral radiography within the tested range. The observers prefer images with a reasonable decrease in brightness and increase in contrast., Clinical Relevance: Brightness and contrast enhancement tools are commonly applied in digital radiographic assessment. The use of these tools for detection of root resorptions can be applied according to the observer preference without influence on diagnostic accuracy.