Comparison of diagnostic efficacy of conventional radiography, digital radiography and Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in apical root resorptions

Since the external root resorption is not detectable clinically, therefore radiographic examination is very important for diagnose, Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare the diagnostic efficiency of conventional, digital and CBCT radiography in detecting of external root resorption.
In this descriptive-analytic study, after radiographic and clinical examination, 20 single-rooted human premolar teeth without calcification and resorption were selected. Cavities were drilled 0.8 mm in diameter with round burs 08 in one-third of the cervical, mid, and apical of the buccal wall, digital and CBCT images were taken. The images were evaluated by 3 faculty members of Mashhad Dental School. The statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS V.18 software and Chi-Square test. The significance level was considered to be 0.05.
The ability to detect external resorption by CBCT was significantly higher than the other two methods (P=0.000). However, there was no significant difference between conventional and digital radiography. External resorption in the coronal, middle and apical were 78.7%, 62.3%, and 35.5%, respectively.
According to the results, CBCT seems to be more reliable in determining external root resorption, in areas of maxillofacial superimposition, and in one-third of the apical root.