A comparative study of accuracy of detection of surface osseous changes in the temporomandibular joint using multidetector CT and cone beam CT

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy and reliability of cone beam CT (CBCT) images compared with multidetector CT (MDCT) images for the detection of surface osseous changes in temporomandibular joints (TMJs). Methods: Naked-eye inspection of 110 sites in 10 TMJs from 5 dry human skulls provided the gold standard. Two radiologists interpreted the images. Sensitivity, specificity and kappa statistics were used for analysis. Results: The sensitivities of both modalities were low and comparable whereas the specificities were high and comparable. Intraobserver reliabilities for CBCT (p = 0.0005) and for MDCT (p = 0.0001) showed significant agreement. Interobserver reliability was higher for CBCT than for MDCT. Conclusion: CBCT and MDCT accuracy was comparable in detecting surface osseous changes with comparable intraobserver reliabilities. However, since CBCT requires less radiation exposure, it should be encouraged for imaging TMJ with suspected surface osseous changes. Dentomaxillofacial Radiology (2012) 41, 185-191. doi: 10.1259/dmfr/24985971