A comparative analysis of angular cephalometric values between CBCT generated lateral cephalograms versus digitized conventional lateral cephalograms.

This study compared angular cephalometric values from scanned traditional lateral cephalograms versus CBCT generated slices. Traditional lateral cephalograms (using Orthoceph OC100) and volumetric CBCT imaging (using NewTom 3G Volume Scanner) were taken from 36 patients. Lateral cephalometric analysis using Dolphin 3D was performed on the respective imported radiographic data and ten angular measurements were evaluated. The reliability of measurements was evaluated with an intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Paired MANOVA was used to compare differences in measurements between the two image modalities. Inter-rater reliability demonstrated high reliability in 90% of the measurements (ICC >0.8). A high intra-rater reproducibility (ICC >0.8) was demonstrated in all angles. No significant difference in the angular measurements was detected between the two image modalities (paired MANOVA p >0.1, alpha =0.05). A lateral slice from CBCT imaging can be used to perform traditional cephalometric analysis with levels of precision and accuracy comparable to traditional lateral cephalometrics. Copyright 2009 Collège Européen d'Orthodontie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.