Future applications of electronic thermography.

The dental literature does not yet indicate the full range of facial thermographic findings in health and disease. Thermography is not useful in assessing some common dental problems, such as periapical granuloma. Promising reports, however, support its use in the diagnosis of neuralgias and atypical odontalgia, TMJ, nerve damage and repair after oral surgery, and in evaluating local dental anesthesia. Unfortunately, few if any of these studies were properly designed or conducted, limiting current attempts to define the value of thermography in dentistry. Until this situation resolves, ET of the face, for use in dentistry, can only be considered an investigational procedure. More research will clarify the precise contribution of thermography to dental problems.