Published online Mar 20, 2024. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v14.i1.88850
Peer-review started: October 13, 2023
First decision: December 7, 2023
Revised: December 20, 2023
Accepted: January 19, 2024
Article in press: January 19, 2024
Published online: March 20, 2024
Processing time: 145 Days and 16.8 Hours
The process of learning, building, and improving radiographic diagnostic skills is a structured and rigorous undertaking that requires extensive human training. This should involve practicing radiologic technical skills, expanding scientific knowledge about diseases, and exposure to clinical environments.
Trabecular bone is highly visible, dominating images of the alveolar structure and adding complexity to human radiographic analysis. Nevertheless, most in vitro studies on the reliability of the radiographic method are carried out only on uncovered extracted teeth, which may increase the differences related to clinical study results. To date, no hard tissue simulation model can be manufactured in a simple and individualized way to mimic human bone for radiological training nor studies.
To investigate the potential of an alternative phantom to simulate the trabecular appearance of the human maxilla in conventional periapical radiographs.
Half-maxillary phantoms built from gypsum-ground rice were exposed to X-rays, and the resulting images (experimental group) were compared to standardized radiographic images produced from dry human maxillary bone (control group) (n = 7). The images were blindly assessed according to strict criteria by three examiners for the usual trabecular aspects of the surrounding bone, and significant differences between groups and in assessment reliability were compared using Fisher’s exact and kappa tests (α = 0.05).
The differences in the trabecular aspects between groups were not statistically significant. In addition, interobserver agreement among observers was 0.43 and 0.51 for the control and experimental groups, respectively, whereas intraobserver agreement was 0.71 and 0.73, respectively.
According to the preliminary results presented, the phantom constructed from dental gypsum and rice has the potential to simulate maxillary trabecular bone on laboratory periapical radiographs.
The perspectives are to improve the technique using rice as well as the creation of techniques using other accessible materials.