Dental CT: Pathologic findings in the teeth and jaws

Abstract

Lesions of the maxilla and mandible are quite common and can be divided into four categories: congenial, inflammatory, trauma, and neoplastic. As most of the lesions are congenital or inflammatory, mainly dentists and oral or maxillofacial surgeons are involved in patient care. These patients are seldomly seen by radiologists, often they are diagnosed with dental radiography, orthopantomography, or cone beam CT by the dentists. To enable a sufficiently accurate diagnosis and to reduce the number of differential diagnoses, a systematic approach should be used in the evaluation of jaw lesions. It is mandatory to characterize these lesions according to their radiodensity, transition zone, bone remodeling, location and relation to adjacent teeth, and last but very important clinical symptoms and history.