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. 2019 Jul 15;7(3):50.
doi: 10.3390/diseases7030050.

The Prevalence and Correlation of Carotid Artery Calcifications and Dental Pulp Stones in a Saudi Arabian Population

Ali Alsweed  1 , Randa Farah  2 , Satheeshkumar Ps  3 , Rafat Farah  4
Affiliations

The Prevalence and Correlation of Carotid Artery Calcifications and Dental Pulp Stones in a Saudi Arabian Population

Ali Alsweed et al. Diseases. .

Abstract

Background: This study sought to determine the prevalence of carotid artery calcifications (CACs) and pulp stones detected on panoramic radiographs (PRs) and ascertain their correlation.

Methods: A total of 2013 digital PRs were retrospectively retrieved and thoroughly examined to determine the prevalence of CACs and pulp stones, their correlation with patient age and gender, and the relationship between the presence of pulps stones and radiographically detectable CACs.

Results: The prevalence of CACs on PRs was 2.0%; the prevalence of pulp stones was 4.6%. There was no statistical relationship between pulp stones and CACs (p = 0.714). Older patients exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of CACs than younger patients (p < 0.001); pulp stones were statistically more prevalent in younger patients than older patients (p = 0.001). There were no significant differences between male and females in terms of the prevalence of either CACs or pulp stones (p = 0.087 and p = 0.278, respectively).

Conclusions: Dentists should be trained to detect CACs on PRs belonging to patients older than 40 to exclude the presence of CACs. Moreover, pulp stones do not function as a diagnostic marker for CACs.

Keywords: atherosclerosis; cardiovascular diseases; carotid arteries; dental pulp calcification; radiography.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Panoramic radiograph with a detectable carotid artery calcification (red arrow).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Close-up view of a panoramic radiograph showing the radio-opacities in the carotid vasculature. Red arrows indicate carotid artery calcifications.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Close-up view of a panoramic radiograph showing idiopathic pulp stone within the coronal pulp chamber of the lower right first molar (Red arrow).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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