Comparison of 2 root surface area measurement methods: 3-dimensional laser scanning and cone-beam computed tomography

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the use of 3-dimensional (3D) laser scanning and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) as methods of root surface measurement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty teeth (15 maxillary first premolars and 15 mandibular first premolars) from 8 patients who required extractions for orthodontic treatment were selected. Before extraction, pre-treatment CBCT images of all the patients were recorded. First, a CBCT image was imported into simulation software (Mimics version 15.01; Materialise, Leuven, Belgium) and the root surface area of each tooth was calculated using 3-Matic (version 7.01, Materialise, Leuven, Belgium). After extraction, all the teeth were scanned and the root surface area of each extracted tooth was calculated. The root surface areas calculated using these 2 measurement methods were analyzed using the paired t-test (P<.05). Correlations between the 2 methods were determined by calculating the Pearson correlation coefficient. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess intraobserver reliability. RESULTS: The root surface area measurements (230.11±41.97 mm(2)) obtained using CBCT were slightly greater than those (229.31±42.46 mm(2)) obtained using 3D laser scanning, but not significantly (P=.425). A high Pearson correlation coefficient was found between the CBCT and the 3D laser scanner measurements. The intraobserver ICC was 1.000 for 3D laser scanning and 0.990 for CBCT. CONCLUSION: This study presents a novel CBCT approach for measuring the root surface area; this technique can be used for estimating the root surface area of non-extracted teeth.