Evaluation of indications for cone beam computed tomography in children and young individuals in a university-based hospital

The aim of this research is to evaluate the indications of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in children and young patients who underwent a CBCT scan in Hacettepe University Faculty of Dentistry and the distribution of the CBCT indications according to different categories (age, gender, field of view, region of interest). A total of 7131 CBCT scans, which were taken between 01 January 2018 and 01 January 2020, were reviewed and 649 pediatric patients (0-18 years) with complete request forms were included. Data related to gender, date of birth, date of CBCT scan, referring department, CBCT indications, field of view (FOV), region of interest (ROI), need for re-exposure, consecutive follow-up scans and their timing were recorded. The most common reason for CBCT referral in children and young patients was "maloclusion and dentofacial anomalies" (%28.7). Indications of "maloclusion and dentofacial anomalies" and "implant planning" in girls and "facial trauma", "dental trauma" and "supernumerary tooth" in boys were recorded more frequently compared to other gender (p<0.05). "Maloclusion and dentofacial anomalies", "facial trauma", "implant planning" and "assessment of temporomandibular joint" were more common indications in the 13-18 age group, while "dental anomalies" and "supernumerary teeth" were more involved in the 7-12 age group. Maxilla (35.1%) was identified as the most frequently imaged region (ROI), followed by the "face" (30.5%). When the FOV dimensions of the CBCT was evaluated, a small (≤10 cm) FOV was preferred in 53.2% of the patients, followed by medium (11 cm-15 cm) FOV in 17.1% and large FOV (23 x 17 cm) in 29.7%. The large FOV dimension was selected in the majority of patients (89.6%) who received CBCT with the indication of "maloclusion and dentofacial anomalies". The rate of patients who received more than one CBCT examination was 16.2% and the reason was stated as "orthodontic follow-up" (51.4%), "surgical follow-up" (42.0%) or "other" (6.6%). The findings of the current study indicated that justification of CBCT was not in line with the current guidelines and larger FOVs were preferred compared to similar studies.