Evaluation of Bone Change by Digital Subtraction Radiography after Implantation of Tooth Ash-plaster Mixture

치아회분과 석고혼합제제 매식후 Digital Subtraction Radiography에 의한 골량 변화의 평가

Purpose : To assess the methods for the clinical evaluation of the longitudinal bone changes after implantation of tooth ash-plaster mixture into the defect area of human jaws. Materials and methods : Tooth ash-plaster mixtures were implanted into the defects of 8 human jaws. 48 intraoral radiograms taken with copper step wedge as reference at soon, 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th week after implantation of mixture were used. X-ray taking was standardized by using Rinn XCP device customized directly to the individual dentition with resin bite block. The images inputted by Quick scanner were digitized and analyzed by NIH image program. Cu­equivalent values were measured at the implanted sites from the periodic digital images. Analysis was performed by the bidirectional subtraction with color enhancement and the surface plot of resliced contiguous image. The obtained results by the two methods were compared with Cu­equivalent value changes. Results : The average determination coefficient of Cu-equivalent equations was 0.9988 and the coefficient of variation of measured Cu values ranged from 0.08~0.10. The coefficient of variation of Cu-equivalent values measured at the areas of the mixture and the bone by the conversion equation ranged from 0.06 ~0.09. The analyzed results by the bidirectional subtraction with color enhancement were coincident with the changes of Cu-equivalent values. The surface plot of the resliced contiguous image showed the three dimensional view of the longitudinal bone changes on one image and also coincident with Cu-equivalent value changes after implantation. Conclusion : The bidirectional subtraction with color enhancement and the surface plot of the resliced contiguous image was very effective and reasonable to analyze clinically and qualitatively the longitudinal bone change. These methods are expected to be applicable to the non-destructive test in other fields.