comparison of the accuracy of panoramic radiography, coronal and axial ct scan in diagnosis of mandibular fractures

introduction: mandibular fracture is the most common facial bone fracture due to facial trauma. a variety of imagings have been used for diagnosis of mandibular fractures. however, the choice of imaging for diagnosis of mandibular fractures is controversial.present study compares the accuracy of the three most common imaging methods in mandibular fracture diagnosis panoramic radiography, coronal ct and axial ct scan. methods: this cross sectional diagnostic study was performed on 45 patients with a clinical diagnosis of post traumatic mandibular fracture at the ent department of shaheed sadoughi hospital,yazd.‍‍‍ patients underwent panoramic radiography and ct scan (both axial and coronal). then, all were operated for reduction of fracture (either closed or open) and fixation done with arch bar and mmf in combination with or without rigid internal fixation. the physical examination and observation during operation was considered as the exact diagnosis. the radiological findings were reported by three different radiologists. finally, the accuracy and sensitivity of each method was compared with the other methods. results: there was no significant difference between the accuracy of panoramic radiography and coronal ct scan in all of the regions, but the accuracy of axial ct was significantly less than coronal ct in certain regions. conclusion: the accuracy of panoramic radiography and coronal ct scan in diagnosis of mandibular fractures is the same or higher than axial ct scan. additionally, panoramic radiography is more accessible and less expensive than coronal ct scan. therefore, this study recommends oral panoramic radiography as the first radiologic test for diagnosis and localization of mandibular fracture