Prescriptive Pattern Using CBCT in Endodontics

Objectives: To identify the reason for CBCT prescription in an educational institution.
To determine if the prescriptive patterns for CBCT of patients attending a single center Graduate/Residency in Endodontics were compliant with the recommendations of the American-Academy-of-Oral-and-Maxillofacial-Radiology and the American-Academy-of-Endodontics(AAOMR/AAE) position statement.
Methods: A total of 110 patients who had a small (5-centimeter-by-5-centimeter) field-of-view CBCT (Carestream-9300) were included in this retrospective study. They were considered according to gender, jaw, sextant and whether teeth investigated were for re-treatment. Each AAOMR/AAE recommendation was assigned to one of 3 groups; Gp1, rule out disease; Gp2, confirm suspected disease, Gp3, aid treatment planning.Contingency table and Fisher-exact-test (FET) were used on data collected.
Results: Sixty six cases were in the maxilla of which 47 were molars, 44 cases were in the mandible of which 26 were molars; this was not significant (FET = 0.219). Females were significantly (FET=0.0432) referred more for CBCT than males. Those teeth requiring retreatment compared to those considered for first treatment was 54 to 12 for the maxilla and 34 to 10 for mandible; this was not significant (FET = 0.630). Gp1, Gp2, and Gp3 accounted for 19, 42 and 49 CBCTs respectively. Gp1 tended to have proportionally few retreated patients (X²=0.0813.). Gp2 was significantly prescribed (FET=0.0164) more frequently for females for the posterior sextant and more frequently for males for the anterior sextant.
Conclusions: Although all 110 prescriptions were AAOMR/AAE recommendations compliant a hiatus in the guidelines was detected. The majority of prescriptions were to confirm suspected disease or to aid treatment planning. The perceived complexity of the root canal anatomy and whether the tooth was considered for re-treatment or first treatment did not appear to confine the use of CBCT to a particular jaw or region of the arch.