Ganguly Rumpa, Ramesh Aruna
J Mass Dent Soc. 2014 Winter;62(4):68-70.
Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is being extensively used by dentists and dental specialists. Although the advantages of using this modality are enormous, with information comes responsibility. Most dental clinicians are not maxillofacial radiologists and are generally not familiar with interpretation of anatomy and pathosis in the head-and-neck area outside their immediate area of clinical interest. This leaves a larger part of extragnathic anatomy unassessed in a CBCT volume that is prescribed for specific dental diagnosis and treatment planning. This is critical because literature shows that most often, incidental findings--those that are found unrelated to immediate clinical interest--are found in the extragnathic areas. Incidental findings are abnormal findings that are unrelated to the initial purpose of the CBCT study. The failure to identify and report these findings, especially if these findings are pathological in nature, can lead to medical complications in the patient and have potential medicolegal ramifications for the dentist/specialist.
锥形束计算机断层扫描（CBCT）正被牙医和牙科专家广泛使用。尽管使用这种模式的优点巨大，但有了信息就有责任。大多数牙科临床医生不是颌面放射科医生，通常不熟悉其直接临床关注区域以外的头颈部区域的解剖结构和病变的解读。这使得在为特定牙科诊断和治疗计划而开具的CBCT容积中，很大一部分颌外解剖结构未得到评估。这很关键，因为文献表明，大多数情况下，偶然发现——即那些与直接临床关注无关的发现——是在颌外区域发现的。偶然发现是与CBCT研究的初始目的无关的异常发现。未能识别和报告这些发现，尤其是如果这些发现本质上是病理性的，可能会导致患者出现医疗并发症，并给牙医/专家带来潜在的法医学后果。
