Evaluation of Feline Permanent Canine Tooth Mineral Density Using Micro-Computed Tomography

Abstract

The tooth is made up of three mineralized tissues, enamel, dentin, and cementum, which surround a non-mineralized tissue called the dental pulp. Micro-computed tomography (mCT) is an imaging technology based on X-rays that allows non-invasive visualization of objects at a microscopic scale, according to their radiopacity and in three dimensions (3D). Likewise, it allows the subsequent execution of morphological and quantitative analysis of the objects, such as, for example, the determination of the relative mineral density (MD). The present work aimed to describe the MD of feline teeth using mCT. The studied sample consisted of four European Shorthair cats, from which nine canine teeth were extracted per medical indication. These teeth were evaluated through dental radiography before and after their extraction. Using mCT and the CTAn software, the values of the relative mineral density of the root of each tooth and of specific segments corresponding to the coronal, middle, and apical thirds of the root were determined. Mean MD of root tissues was 1.374 ± 0040 g·cm−3, and of hard root, tissues was 1.402 ± 0.035 g·cm−3. Through mCT, it was possible to determine the mean MD values of feline canine teeth. The study of MD could become an ancillary method for the diagnosis and characterization of dental pathology.

Morphological study of pulp cavity anatomy of canine teeth in domestic cats using micro-computed tomography

“…Most endodontic studies in veterinary medicine focus on the 2D characteristics of a 3D object and thus present limitations. Few veterinary studies have used micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to assess the morphology of teeth (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). As such, the current understanding of the anatomy of the feline canine tooth pulp cavity stems primarily from the study of intraoral radiographic images.…”

“…As such, the current understanding of the anatomy of the feline canine tooth pulp cavity stems primarily from the study of intraoral radiographic images. The use of micro-CT has become an increasingly important tool in the study of endodontics as it provides an accurate, non-invasive 3D ex vivo assessment of the root canal system (2,17,(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24). Root canal morphology of different teeth in human populations has been extensively studied using micro-CT and has shown considerable anatomical variation (2,19,20,(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33).…”