Case Report
Cone Beam CT in Diagnosis and Surgical Planning of
Dentigerous Cyst
Naira Figueiredo Deana
1
and Nilton Alves
2,3
1
Magister Program in Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile
2
CIMA-Research Center in Applied Morphology, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile
3
Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad de La Frontera, 1145 Francisco Salazar Avenue, P.O. Box 54-D, Temuco, Chile
Correspondence should be addressed to Nilton Alves; niltonnalves@yahoo.com.br
Received 25 October 2016; Revised 6 January 2017; Accepted 15 January 2017; Published 15 February 2017
Academic Editor: Daniel Torr´ es-Lagares
Copyright © 2017 Naira Figueiredo Deana and Nilton Alves. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Diagnosis and preoperative planning are critical in the execution of any surgical procedure. Panoramic radiography is a routine
method used in dentistry to assist clinical diagnosis; however, with this technique 3D anatomical structures are compressed into
2D images, resulting in overlapping of structures which are of interest in the diagnosis. In this study we report the case of a patient
who presented with a dentigerous cyst of expressive dimensions in the body of the mandible region. Te surgery was planned and
executed afer observing the margins of the lesion by Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). We conclude that CBCT is a
precise method to help diagnosis; it provides greater accuracy in surgical treatment planning through 3D image display, allowing
more efective results.
1. Introduction
Te dentigerous (or follicular) cyst (DC) is the second most
common type of dental cyst and the most common in jaw
development [1]. Benn and Altini [2] propose the existence
of two types of dentigerous cysts: one of a developing nature
and the other infammatory. From a clinical point of view,
dentigerous cysts are generally asymptomatic, slow-growing,
associated with the crown of an impacted or unerupted
permanent tooth, and characterised by retarded eruption of
the tooth [1]. However they may grow large enough to cause
destruction of the cortical bone, resulting in fuctuation,
spontaneous pain, exudation, and rapid development of the
pathology, which are signs of acute infammation round the
margins of the cyst [3].
Diagnosis of the lesion should not be based on X-ray
evidence alone, but also on clinical evidence, particularly
microscopic examination of the sample [2].
Periapical and panoramic X-rays are the most commonly
used imaging examinations in dentistry for diagnosis and
surgical planning. However the information acquired in
these examinations is limited, since the three-dimensional
anatomy of the area X-rayed is shown in two dimensions,
with superimposed planes. Although these methods produce
acceptable images in the mesiodistal direction, observation
in the vestibulolingual direction is difcult. Tere may also
be geometrical distortion of the structures X-rayed when
we use these imaging methods [4]. A very efcient imaging
technique for diagnosing DC is Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI), since it allows cysts to be distinguished from tumoral
lesions [5], ensuring safe, efcient performance [6]; however
MRI is a very high-cost examination with limited availability,
making it impractical for routine clinical use.
In the last decade a new technology—Cone Beam Com-
puterised Tomography (CBCT)—has ofered dental surgeons
three-dimensional reproduction of images of mineralised
maxillofacial tissues, with minimum distortion and sig-
nifcantly lower doses of radiation than conventional CT
[7].
Te object of this study was to report a clinical case of a
dentigerous cyst in which the diagnostic hypothesis and the
decision on the treatment plan were based on CBCT.
Hindawi
Case Reports in Dentistry
Volume 2017, Article ID 7956041, 6 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7956041