ORAL SURGERY, ORAL MEDICINE, ORAL PATHOLOGY, ORAL RADIOLOGY, AND ENDODONTICS, cilt.1, ss.1-16, 2022 (SCI-Expanded)
Objectives
This study aims to determine the
incidence of physiological intracranial calcifications on cone-beam computed
tomography (CBCT) and to contribute to the differentiation between
physiological and pathological intracranial calcifications by sharing their
characteristic appearances, with the largest number of patients in the
literature and many different types of physiological calcifications.
Study Design
CBCT images of 996 patients
admitted to the clinic between 2018-2019 were scanned retrospectively.
Petroclinoid (PCL) and interclinoid ligaments (ICL), pineal gland, coronoid
plexus, falx cerebri, tentorium cerebelli, and other dural calcifications were
evaluated in each radiograph.
Results
Physiological calcification was
present in 49.4% of the cases, and pineal gland calcification was the most
common (47.6%) type. PCL calcification was detected in 22.1%, and it was mostly
bilateral partial. There were complete ICL in 1.2%, coronoid plexus in 11.3%,
falx cerebri in 6.3%, tentorium cerebelli in 1.1%, and other dural
calcifications in 3.6%. Only PCL calcifications differed between genders and
were more common in males. PCL, pineal gland, and coronoid plexus calcifications
were most detected in third decade of the cases.
Conclusions
Intracranial calcifications are
detected incidentally in CBCT examinations. Some calcifications may indicate
pathological conditions, and patients may need to be referred for further
evaluation.