Clinical importance of incidental findings reported on small-volume dental cone beam computed tomography scans focused on impacted maxillary canine teeth

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical importance of incidental findings reported for small-volume cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of impacted maxillary canine teeth. STUDY DESIGN: Radiology reports of CBCT examinations performed as part of diagnosis and treatment planning for impacted or ectopically erupting maxillary canine teeth for 183 consecutive patients were assessed retrospectively. The scans were obtained with a small-volume unit (3 D Accuitomo 80) with a field of view that was either 40 × 40 or 60 × 60 mm. The findings were graded according to their clinical importance as low, intermediate, or high. RESULTS: Three hundred and forty incidental findings were reported. One of the incidental findings was of high importance (0.3%), 97 were of intermediate importance (28.5%), and 242 were of low importance or anatomic variant (71.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Incidental findings reported on small-dimension CBCT scans of impacted maxillary canine teeth rarely require immediate attention; nonetheless, 28.8% would require follow-up.