The Adequacy of Digital Periapicals, Panoramic, and CBCT Images in Determination of the Linear Measurements Between the Inferior Border of Nasal Cavity and Alveolar Crest (A Comparison)

Determination of the exact location of the inferior border of nasal cavity is a fundamental element in precise surgical procedures such as implant placements. The purpose of this study is to compare the accuracy of the digital periapical، panoramic & CBCT images in linear measurements of the distance between the inferior of nasal cavity and alveolar crest. A descriptive study was conducted on three dry skulls in which seven locations، 5mm apart from one another، were marked by Gutta-Percha from canine to canine (total: 21 location). Digital periapical radiographies using parallel technique، digital panoramic and CBCT images were obtained and vertical dimensions from alveolar crest to inferior border of nasal cavity (marked areas) were measured. These measurements were then obtained directly from the dry skulls using digital caliper as our gold standard (with an accuracy of 0. 1 mm). Data analysis and comparison between the groups were done using repeated measurement Anova test. The mean error for periapical radiography was o. 13±0. 12 mm، 0. 35±0. 25 mm for CBCT and 1. 15±0. 61mm for panoramic. In digital periapical radiography (100 %) of measurements، in CBCT 70% and 17. 5% in Panoramic radiography were acceptable (in within the range of ± 0. 5 mm). According to the LSD test there was a statistically significant different between radiographic techniques. There was significant statistical differences between the three radiographic modalities in terms of adequacy of measurement. (p<0. 05) Digital parallel Periapicals are more accurate than panoramic and CBCT images in determining the linear measurement between the inferior border of nasal cavity and the alveolar crest.