imaging

Looking at the dentition of several million year old skull

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An interesting article titled “Preliminary paleohistological observations of the StW 573 (‘Little Foot’) skull” appears in eLife written by Amélie Beaudet and et al. (March 2, 2021). The article explores initial results an X-ray based imaging investigation of the skull of a 3.67-million-year-old Australopithecus specimen which is a prehuman ancestor known as Little Foot. In the study the authors presented initial results of the investigation of the dentition and cranial bones of Little Foot. Little foot was found in a cave in the 1990s in South Africa. It took 15 years to completely remove Little foot from the ground and is regarded as the most complete skeleton of the early hominin lineage leading to humans. The researchers brought Little Foot’s skull from South Africa to the U.K. to scan it with a synchrotron x-ray microcomputed tomography system. The authors were able to, for the … Read more

Using imaging to map arteries to reduce complications and improve outcomes in oral surgeries

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When oral surgeons are working in the mouth they use the greater palatine artery as a landmark which is important for them to know to avoid damaging any surrounding nerves. There can be a discrepancy of where the surgeon thinks the palatine artery is and where it actually is by up to around 4 to 5 millimeters. This discrepancy is enough to lead to complications and injuries while the surgeon is working in the mouth area. One such complication that could occur is that the greater palatine artery is severed and significant bleeding occurs (hemorrhaging). The greater palatine nerve is also very close to the greater palatine artery and damaging this nerve can lead to potential permanent loss of feeling in parts of the mouth. As a result, oral surgeons tend to avoid any possible locations around where the greater … Read more

Photoacoustic Imaging for Periodontal Probing Depth

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Engineering research at the University of California San Diego has led to a technique that could update how teeth and gums are imaged. Researchers combined squid ink with light and ultrasound to create a new dental imaging method to examine a patient’s gums in a more comprehensive and accurate way than existing methods and also non-invasive way. The image can show the entire pocket depth around teeth consistent and accurately without prodding the gums of the patient. The conventional method for dentists to assess gum health is to use an instrument called a periodontal probe which is a thin, hook-like metal tool that is marked like a tiny measuring stick and inserted in between the teeth and gums to see if the gums have shrunk back from the teeth, creating pockets. This method of measuring pocket depth is considered a … Read more

The Image Gently Campaign in Dentistry

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If you keep abreast at all with radiation exposure from medical imaging, you may have heard of the Image Wisely campaign. The Imagely Wisely Campaign was designed to have people aware of the fact that certain medical imaging tests such as CT exams are sometimes over used and do not have to be used in certain instances. The goal is to reduce radiation exposure to patients while still providing good medical care, see http://www.imagewisely.org/. The Image Gently campaign is designed to provide information to parents and others to help reduce exposure to radiation for children, see http://imagegently.org/, and has been around since 2007. The campaign is supported by the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging, which is a coalition of healthcare organizations dedicated to providing safe and high-quality pediatric imaging. Recently, it has been announced that a new Image Gently campaign in dentistry … Read more