Comparison of facial soft tissue thickness using CBCT in patient referred to the radiology department of Tabriz faculty of dentistry

Abstract

In case of unknown dead, conventional identification techniques such as DNA analysis and comparison of fingerprint can be used. When other methods are not successful, facial reconstruction is used. This approach work on morphology of the skull. For correct reconstruction, itEs necessary to know the average facial soft tissue thickness of specific site on the face. This requires establishing a database of soft tissue thickness related to age, sex, race and ethnicity. The present study determined the facial soft tissue thickness in the different landmark points on the CBCT images of patient in Tabriz Faculty of Dentistry. Materials and methods In this descriptive cross-sectional trial, CBCT images of 250 patients who did not show any pathologic lesion, on 14 landmark point by two radiologistsE observer were analyzed. The differences in the soft tissue thickness were statically analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient and T-test. Result Facial soft tissue thickness in the most landmarks has not significant differences between men and women. In some land marks, significant differences were found between emaciated, normal and overweight patients and in the most case, facial soft tissue thickness increased with increased BMI. In some cases, significant differences were noted between soft tissue thickness value among the different age group; in which, the thickness increased with the increased age. Conclusion These data can be used for facial reconstruction purposes in Iranian population; however, slight differences existed between studied population and other sub group races must be considered for the accurate reconstruction.