Purpose: This ex vivo study was performed to determine the optimal energy level for virtual monoenergetic images (VMIs) generated with photon-counting detector computed tomography (PCD-CT) to minimize metal artifacts from dental implants. Materials and Methods: Twelve implants from various manufacturers were placed in 6 pig mandibles and scanned with PCD-CT. VMIs were reconstructed at energy levels from 70 keV to 150 keV in 20-keV increments. Three readers with varying experience qualitatively assessed the image quality, artifact burden, and diagnostic interpretability of peri-implant soft and hard tissues using a 5-point discrete visual scale. Objective analyses included quantitative line profileanalysis of implant-induced artifacts. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and inter-reader agreement was assessedusing percentage agreement and the Krippendorff alpha coefficient. Results: Qualitative analysis demonstrated excellent image quality for VMIs at ≥110 keV (median = 5), with minimal artifacts observed at 130-150 keV. In contrast, lower-energy VMIs (70-90 keV) showed inferior performance due to artifact-related limitations in diagnostic interpretability. Inter-reader agreement ranged from moderate to perfect, with perfect reliability (α = 1) for VMIs ≥110 keV. Quantitative line-profile analysis confirmed reduced artifact burden at higher energy levels, particularly for VMIs ≥110 keV. Conclusion VMI at energy levels ≥110 keV on PCD-CT reduced dental implant-related metal artifacts and offeredexcellent image quality, including assessment of both peri-implant soft and hard tissues. These findings suggest thatoptimized PCD-CT VMI may enhance postoperative follow-up imaging. Future in vivo studies are warranted tovalidate these findings in clinical practice.

Nasopalatine duct cysts (NPDCs), the most common non-odontogenic cysts of maxilla, are often incidental findings on diagnostic imaging. When symptomatic, they usually present as a painless swelling with possible fistula. Conventional radiography shows a round-to-ovoid or heart-shaped radiolucency between the roots of central maxillary incisors. While the radiographic features of NPDCs in X-ray-based modalities have been well described, their magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features have rarely been reported. Developments in dental MRI in recent years and the introduction of various dental MRI protocols now allow a wide range of applications in dental medicine. MRI is becoming an important tool for the detection and diagnosis of incidental or non-incidental dentomaxillofacial cysts. This report presented and discussed the characteristics of 2 NPDC cases visualized on MRI using both conventional and newly implemented specific dental MRI protocols with a novel 15-channel mandibular coil, demonstrating the use of these protocols for radiation-free maxillofacial diagnoses.

Carious lesions are bacteria-caused destructions of the mineralised dental tissues, marked by the simultaneous activation of immune responses and regenerative events within the soft dental pulp tissue. While major molecular players in tooth decay have been uncovered during the past years, a detailed map of the molecular and cellular landscape of the diseased pulp is still missing. In this study we used single-cell RNA sequencing analysis, supplemented with immunostaining, to generate a comprehensive single-cell atlas of the pulp of carious human teeth. Our data demonstrated modifications in the various cell clusters within the pulp of carious teeth, such as immune cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and fibroblasts, when compared to the pulp of healthy human teeth. Active immune response in the carious pulp tissue is accompanied by specific changes in the fibroblast and MSC clusters. These changes include the upregulation of genes encoding extracellular matrix (ECM) components, including COL1A1 and Fibronectin (FN1), and the enrichment of the fibroblast cluster with myofibroblasts. The incremental changes in the ECM composition of carious pulp tissues were further confirmed by immunostaining analyses. Assessment of the Fibronectin fibres under mechanical strain conditions showed a significant tension reduction in carious pulp tissues, compared to the healthy ones. The present data demonstrate molecular, cellular and biomechanical alterations in the pulp of human carious teeth, indicative of extensive ECM remodelling, reminiscent of fibrosis observed in other organs. This comprehensive atlas of carious human teeth can facilitate future studies of dental pathologies and enable comparative analyses across diseased organs.
Humans ; Dental Pulp ; Fibronectins ; Extracellular Matrix/pathology* ; Dental Caries ; Sequence Analysis, RNA