Journal of Oral Medicine, Oral Surgery, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology 2020;6(4):208–211 Content available at: https://www.ipinnovative.com/open-access-journals Journal of Oral Medicine, Oral Surgery, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology Journal homepage: www.joooo.org Case Report Calcified triticeous cartilage in cone beam computed tomography: A radiographic observation Shilpa Padar Shastry 1, *, E Sham 2 , Naveen Kumar 1 , Veerendra Kumar 2 1 Dept. of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Vydehi Institute of Dental Sciences and Research Centre, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India 2 Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Vydehi Institute of Dental Sciences and Research Centre, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 03-10-2020 Accepted 05-11-2020 Available online 02-12-2020 Keywords: Calcification Triticeous cartilage Cone beam computed tomography ABSTRACT Triticeous cartilage (TC) is a small, ovoid cartilage present within the lateral thyrohyoid ligament which may undergo calcification and becomes visible in the radiographic examination. Calcified triticeous cartilage (CTC) are confused with other soft tissue calcification in that region both symptomatically or radiographically. Although CTC are seen in panoramic radiographs, its exact location, shape and association with adjacent structures are difficult to discern. Objectives of this article is to report a case of CTC, which reported to our department with vague symptoms. Upon CBCT examination, CTC was evident and hence this article highlights the CBCT features of CTC and literature review. © This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 1. Introduction Triticeous cartilage (TC) is a small, ovoid cartilage present within the lateral thyrohyoid ligament, may serve to reinforce the thyrohyoid ligament. The ligament extends from the superior horn of the thyroid cartilage to the greater horn of the hyoid bone. TC could be present unilaterally, bilaterally or be absent. TC may undergo calcification and becomes visible in the radiographic examination. 1,2 Similar to other soft tissue calcifications, calcified triticeous cartilage (CTC), may be accidentally found during head and neck radiographic examinations and easily mistaken for other calcifications especially carotid artery calcification. These calcifications may occur due to physiological condition (age related) or pathological mineralization. 1 In panoramic radiograph, due to overlapping of structures, magnification and distortions, determining the exact location and relationship of these calcification is difficult. In this perspective, cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) allows accurate evaluation of anatomic * Corresponding author. E-mail address: shilpa.keshav@gmail.com (S. P. Shastry). location, distribution and morphology of these calcification. Although CBCT has low soft tissue contrast, this imaging modality is superior to conventional radiography in terms of differentiating these calcifications from one another. Objectives of this article is to report a case of CTC, which reported to our department with vague symptoms. Upon CBCT examination, CTC was evident and hence this article highlights the CBCT features of CTC and literature review. 2. Case Report A 58-year old male patient presented for our dental OPD with a complaint of vague pain in right neck region, which radiates to angle of the mandible and TMJ of same side. Pain was intermittent, and aggravated on swallowing. Past dental and medical history did not reveal any significant history. Upon examination, the muscles of mastication and TMJ were normal. Intraorally, there were no odontogenic cause related to patient’s complaint. Considering, vague pain in neck region, and pain on swallowing, elongated styloid process was considered clinical diagnosis. Length of styloid process as measured in panoramic radiograph of patient revealed 23.2 mm on right side. But https://doi.org/10.18231/j.jooo.2020.045 2395-6186/© 2020 Innovative Publication, All rights reserved. 208