Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: Incidental  finding  on  radiographs  may  help  in  identifying  other  changes   apart  from  the  diagnostic  purpose  of  the  image.Calcification  of  soft tissue  would  be  one  such  findings.The  purpose  of  this  article  is  to  study  the  efficacy  of  panoramic  radiographs  as  a  screening  aid  in  detection  of  soft  tissue  calcifications. Materials  and  methods: 1029,  Digital  panoramic  radiographs  of  patients aged  between  30  and  70  years, from the  year  2016  available  on  the  out  patient  records  of  the  Department  of  Oral  Medicine  and Radiology  were  selected.  Soft  tissue  calcifications  were  recorded  according  to  the anatomic  site,  shape. Results: Among  1029  digital  radiographs  viewed  for  calcifications,  620  were  male  and  409  were  female.  Various  soft  tissue  calcifications  are  viewed  which  include  carotid   artery  calcification  (46.91%),  stylohyoid  ligament  (6.7%),  tonsillolith  (31.1%),  lymphnode  (2.2%).  The  association  of  presence  of  calcification  with  age  and  gender  was  analyzed  with  the  Chi-square  test.(p>0.05) Conclusion: Incidental  findings  of  soft  tissue  calcifications  on  panoramic  radiograph  help  in  early  referral  for  investigation  which  could  potentially  decrease  the morbidity  and mortality  especially  in  case  of  carotid  artery  calcification.
Key words: Panoramic  radiography,  Carotid  atherosclerosis,  Soft  tissue  calcification,  Diagnostic.

Received: 11 May, 2019                            Revised:  28 May 2019                             Accepted: 29 May 2019

Corresponding author: Dr. A. Rizwana, PG trainee, Department  of  Oral  Medicine  and  Radiology,  Vinayaka  Mission  Sankarachariyar  Dental  College, Vinayaka  Mission  Research  Foundation   –  DU,  Salem.- 636 308, India

This article may be cited as: N Mohan,  A Rizwana,  P.T Ravikumar.,  R Karthik, Mathew S. Digital Panoramic Radiograph- A Screening Aid in Detection of Soft Tissue Calcifications:  A Retrospective Study. J Adv Med Dent Scie Res 2019;7(6): 14-18.