Analysis of the Manifestations of ENT in Low-dose Oral CBCT Examination

Objective: To investigate the manifestations of ear, nose and throat (ENT) related tissues and imaging manifestations by cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) examination in oral diseases. Methods: The data of 300 patients who underwent oral CBCT examinations in our hospital from July 2019 to May 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, and the display of tissue structures outside their teeth was recorded. Anatomical structures mainly include sinuses, nasal cavity, pharyngeal recesses, mastoid and surrounding soft tissues. The anatomical display rate of the above tissues (maxillary sinus, sphenoid sinus, frontal sinus and ethmoid sinus) in the imaging image was independently evaluated by double-blind method, and the display of tissue structure and the imaging contrast between tissue structures were scored. All data were analyzed statistically, and the results were statistically significant. Results: In oral CBCT, under the low-dose X-ray, the maxillary and sphenoid sinuses in the paranasal sinuses can be well displayed on CBCT, but the frontal and ethmoid sinuses cannot be displayed; nasal cavity and ethmoid sinus pharyngeal crypts got excellent results, and bilateral mastoid got good results. The gas and bone quality between the tissues were displayed well, and the scores between the soft tissue, fat and fluid were significantly different, while the soft tissue, fat and fluid were not displayed well, and there was no significant difference in the scores among the three. Conclusion: Low-dose CBCT in oral examination can well show the relevant anatomy of the maxillary sinus, sphenoid sinus, nasal cavity, and pharyngeal recess. We shouldn’t ignore the disease detection of these tissue structures in the analysis of imaging results, but the contrast between soft tissue structures is poor, the qualitative diagnosis of these tissue structure diseases needs further examination.