Importance of preprosthetic routine panoramic radiography to detect asymptomatic pathologies in completely edentulous Libyan patients: A retrospective study

Abstract

Background: Panoramic radiography (PR) is a diagnostic modality value for providing a view of the entire maxillofacial region in a single film with a relatively low dose of radiation. It is used as an initial screening tool to examine completely edentulous jaws for preprosthetic evaluation, to detect asymptomatic conditions as root fragments, impacted teeth, radiopaque or radiolucent lesions, and foreign bodies.Aim: The purpose of this study was to report the importance of PR survey of a partially and completely edentulous jaw, for detection of asymptomatic conditions prior to conventional or implant supported prosthetic rehabilitation.Material and Methods: The present study was conducted on 263 panoramic radiographs (PRs), collected retrospectively for Libyan completely edentulous patients. The sampled PRs were evaluated and the collected data were tabulated and analyzed using Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Office 2013). Results: The entire PR study subjects with pathological conditions were 73 cases (27.8%), while those with no pathologic conditions were 190 patients (72.2%). The most frequent pathological findings seen were residual cysts 33 (12.5%) followed by impacted third molars 16 (6.1%).Conclusion: The PR preprosthetic routine examination, is very useful and important diagnostic tool to detect asymptomatic conditions of the jaws and surrounding structures.