[ASSESSMENT OF THE FEASIBILITY OF USING CONE-BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN CHILDREN FOR DIAGNOSTICS, 3D CEPHALOMETRY AND PLANNING ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT (REVIEW)]

Abstract

Objective diagnostics and orthodontic treatment planning are of paramount importance for both pediatric and adult patients. Traditionally, two-dimensional (2D) X-ray images such as panoramic, lateral and front cephalograms are widely used by orthodontists for diagnostics. However, alongside with 2D images causing a lot of questions, it is usually required to obtain several 2D X-ray images in different views at the same time, which by itself is increasing the radiation dosage and the stochastic effect. The spread of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) to visualize the cranio-maxillofacial area marks a real paradigm shift from two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D) imaging in dentistry. CBCT with 3D reconstruction and 3D cephalometry capabilities is currently replacing traditional 2D visualization and is becoming widely used in orthodontics. However, full scull volume CBCT should only be used for children with strict clinical indication since growing patients are particularly sensitive to ionizing radiation. In this review article we consider such questions: what minimal volume of CBCT with minimal effective dosage of radiation is justified for diagnosing of growing patients in orthodontic practice, criteria for the possibility of using medium field of view CBCT with the purpose of cephalometric analysis, as well as outlining advantages and evidence-based indications for CBCT in pediatric orthodontic.