<b><i>T</i></b>₂ Mapping as a Tool for Assessment of Dental Pulp Response to Caries Progression: An in vivo MRI Study

Abstract

Among radiological methods, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) excels in its ability to image soft tissue at great contrast and without the need of harmful radiation. This study tested whether in vivo MRI based on standard MRI sequences run on a standard clinical MRI system can be used to quantify dental pulp response to caries progression using the T2 mapping method. In the study, 74 teeth were scanned on a 3-T MRI system, and caries was assessed according to the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS). The T2 maps were processed to obtain T2 profiles along selected root canals (from crown to apex), and the profiles were sorted according to both tooth type (single-rooted vs. molar) and ICDAS score. In all the examined dental pulps, it was found that T2 values decrease with an increase in the ICDAS score. In the coronal part of dental pulps, average T2 values of 166, 153, and 115 ms were found in ICDAS groups 0, 1–3, and 4–6, respectively. In single-rooted teeth, T2 values were found approximately constant as a function of dental pulp depth, while in multi-rooted teeth, they were found increasing in the coronal part and decreasing towards the root apex. The study confirmed that T2 mapping of dental pulp can be used to reliably quantify its response to caries progression and that it has a potential to become a complementary diagnostic tool to standard radiographic methods in the assessment of dental pulp response to caries.

High-Resolution Single Tooth MRI With an Inductively Coupled Intraoral Coil—Can MRI Compete With CBCT?

“…Normal values, however, might be essential in the future, as T1-weighted sequences have demonstrated to be very useful for pulp vitality assessment. 18,19 A recent study based on a smaller database (74 teeth vs 296 in our cohort) reported a mean T2 relaxation time at 3 T of 166 milliseconds, 27 which is comparable to our findings revealing an average T2 relaxation time of 171 milliseconds. This study was restricted to a limited analysis of single-versus multi-rooted teeth.…”

Dental MRI—only a future vision or standard of care? A literature review on current indications and applications of MRI in dentistry

“… 30,31 However, signal enhancement in the dental pulp using contrast agents was discussed as a potentially valuable diagnostic tool and used more recently as a measurement for the healthy and inflamed pulp by Juerchott et al 33 Hyperperfusion of the pulp correlated with a high signal, and T2-values related to a presumed inflammation adjacent to caries were mapped using incremental echo times. 31 The degree of perfusion of the dental pulp correlated with the signal in MRI, and terminated perfusion and pulp necrosis show no signal. 30,31,34 …”

Retainer im MRT – Belassen oder Entfernen?

“…Die Magnetresonanztomografie stellt einen essentiellen Diagnosebaustein bei der Beurteilung verschiedenster Pathologien im Kopf-Hals-Bereich dar [1, 2] und entwickelt sich zu einem festen Bestandteil in der Diagnostik von dentalen Fragestellungen in vielen zahnmedizinischen Fachbereichen [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Hierzu zählt auch die Kieferorthopädie, bei der sich die MRT in der skelettalen Analyse als äquivalent zur konventionellen Kephalometrie und DVTbasierten 3D Kephalometrie erwiesen hat [20][21][22][23].…”

“…Hierbei sollte bedacht werden, dass sich die Anwendung der MRT in dentalen Fragestellungen noch eher auf einzelne Patienten beschränkt, sich jedoch weiter ausdehnen wird, wodurch Artefakte durch Cobalt-Chrom-Retainer in Zukunft größere Relevanz bekommen könnten. So könnten Cobalt-Chrom-Retainer beispielsweise die MRT-basierte Beurteilung des Endodonts 13 oder der Kariesdiagnostik 14 unmöglich machen. Auch eine lokal korrelierende MRT-basierte Implantat Planung 16 18 32 52 wäre durch Cobalt-Chrom-Retainer verhindert.…”