Guidelines for Micro-Computed Tomography Analysis of Rodent Dentoalveolar Tissues

Micro-computed tomography (mu CT) has become essential for analysis of mineralized as well as nonmineralized tissues and is therefore widely applicable in the life sciences. However, lack of standardized approaches and protocols for scanning, analyzing, and reporting data often makes it difficult to understand exactly how analyses were performed, how to interpret results, and if findings can be broadly compared with other models and studies. This problem is compounded in analysis of the dentoalveolar complex by the presence of four distinct mineralized tissues: enamel, dentin, cementum, and alveolar bone. Furthermore, these hard tissues interface with adjacent soft tissues, the dental pulp and periodontal ligament (PDL), making for a complex organ. Drawing on others' and our own experience analyzing rodent dentoalveolar tissues by mu CT, we introduce techniques to successfully analyze dentoalveolar tissues with similar or disparate compositions, densities, and morphological characteristics. Our goal is to provide practical guidelines for mu CT analysis of rodent dentoalveolar tissues, including approaches to optimize scan parameters (filters, voltage, voxel size, and integration time), reproducibly orient samples, define regions and volumes of interest, segment and subdivide tissues, interpret findings, and report methods and results. We include illustrative examples of analyses performed on genetically engineered mouse models with phenotypes in enamel, dentin, cementum, and alveolar bone. The recommendations are designed to increase transparency and reproducibility, promote best practices, and provide a basic framework to apply mu CT analysis to the dentoalveolar complex that can also be extrapolated to a variety of other tissues of the body. (c) 2021 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Automated summary

Micro-computed tomography (μCT) is widely used in life sciences, but lack of standardized protocols can make it difficult to interpret results. Techniques for successfully analyzing rodent dentoalveolar tissues with different compositions and characteristics have been introduced. Practical guidelines and illustrative examples are provided to increase transparency and reproducibility in μCT analysis.