Diagnostic accuracy of artificially induced vertical root fractures: a comparison of direct digital periapical images with conventional periapical images

Purpose: To compare the diagnostic accuracy for the detection of root fractures in CMOS-based digital periapical images with conventional film-based periapical images. Materials and Methods: Sixty extracted single-root human teeth with closed apices were prepared endodontically and divided into two groups; artificially induced vertical root fracture group and control group. All radiographs were obtained using the paralleling technique. The radiographs were examined by 4 observers three times within a 4 week interval. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was carried out using data obtained from four observers. Intra- and inter-examiner agreements were computed using kappa analysis. Results: The area under the ROC curve (Az) was used as an indicator of the diagnostic accuracy of the imaging system. Az values were as follows: direct-digital images; 0.93, film-based images; 0.92, and inverted digital images; 0.91. There was no significant difference between imaging modalities (P<0.05). The kappa value of inter-observer agreement was 0.42 (range: 0.28-0.60) and intra-observer agreement was 0.57 (range: 0.44-0.75). Conclusion : There is no statistical difference in diagnostic accuracy for the detection of vertical root fractures between digital periapical images and conventional periapical images. The results indicate that the CMOS sensor is a good image detector for the evaluation of vertical root fractures.