Incidental findings of soft tissue radiopacities on digital panoramic radiographs: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Panoramic radiographs have the unique ability to cover maxilla, mandible, and associated structures in a single image. Hence, the soft tissue calcifications within the region covered can be identified. Aim: To assess the prevalence of incidental findings of soft tissue radiopacities on...

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Main Authors: M Preethy (Author), Somasundaram Elangovan (Author), Suman Jhansi Lakshmi (Author), Senthil Kumar (Author)
Format: Book
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications, 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z.
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Summary:Introduction: Panoramic radiographs have the unique ability to cover maxilla, mandible, and associated structures in a single image. Hence, the soft tissue calcifications within the region covered can be identified. Aim: To assess the prevalence of incidental findings of soft tissue radiopacities on digital panoramic radiographs. Materials and Method: 2036 digital panoramic radiographs were included in the study. For convenience, each radiograph was divided into 12 segments by 3 vertical lines, and 2 horizontal lines. Calcifications were analyzed based on the anatomical location, number, shape, size, and internal structure. Results: The overall prevalence of soft tissue calcifications was 5.1%. Six types of soft tissue calcifications were identified, which included stylohyoid ligament calcification (53.3%), carotid artery calcification (24.8%), lymph node calcification (5.7%), tonsillolith (3.8%), sialolith (3.8%) and thyroid and triticious cartilage calcification (8.6%). Conclusion: There is no sufficient data in the literature, and hence more studies are needed with a wider sample size to correlate with the available data.
Item Description:0972-1363
10.4103/jiaomr.jiaomr_42_22