Comparison of cephalometric radiographs obtained from cone-beam computed tomography scans and conventional radiographs.

Purpose: We evaluated whether measurements on conventional cephalometric radiographs are comparable to measurements on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)-constructed cephalometric radiographs taken from human skulls.
Materials and Methods: The CBCT scans and conventional cephalometric radiographs were made using 40 dry skulls. With I-Cat Vision software (Imaging Sciences International, Inc, Hatfield, PA), a cephalometric radiograph was constructed from the CBCT scan. Standard cephalometric software was used to identify landmarks, and calculate distances and angles. The same operator identified 15 landmarks on both types of cephalometric radiographs on all images 5 times with a 1-week interval.
Results: Intraobserver reliability was good for all measurements. The reproducibility of measurements on cephalometric radiographs obtained from CBCT scans was better, compared with the reproducibility of those on conventional cephalometric radiographs. There was no clinically relevant difference between measurements on conventional and constructed cephalometric radiographs.
Conclusions: Measurements on CBCT-constructed cephalometric radiographs are comparable to conventional cephalometric radiographs, and are therefore suitable for longitudinal research.