A Prevalence Study on Ectopic Calcification in Digital Panoramic Radiographs in Shahid Sadoughi Dental School of Yazd in 2012-2013

Introduction: soft tissue calcification is a relatively common issue in panoramic radiography. These opacities include calcification of lymph nodes, tonsilolith, sialolith, calcification of stylohyoid complex and carotid artery bifurcation. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of soft tissue calcification in panoramic radiographs, their differential diagnosis, and their correlation with the underlying disease such as diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular accident. Methods: In this study, panoramic radiographs of 510 patients referring to radiology department of shahid sadoughi dental school of Yazd in one year were examined. Moreover, prevalence of soft tissue calcification, their location and factors such as age, sex, underlying disease and smoking were examined. The data was analyzed by Chi-square, Fishers exact test and odds ratio. Result: The prevalence of soft tissue calcification was 2.0% for calcification of carotid artery, 7.3% for tonsilolith, 2.0% for sialolith, 6.5% for calcified lymph node, 21.4% for elongated stylohyoid process. There was a significant correlation between ectopic calcification and diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and tuberculosis (p-value0.05). Conclusion: The study showed that detection of soft tissue calcification and ectopic calcification on panoramic radiographs should be taken into account, and the dentist should refer the patients to related specialist for more complete examinations