Post-processing of panoramic radiographs: Demystifying its veracity

Background: Panoramic radiography is a routinely advised extraoral radiograph in a dental practice due to its diverse implications in the field of oral and maxillofacial diagnosis. The visibility of normal structures in the panoramic radiographs is of paramount importance as their margins should be delineated clearly from pathological structures that will aid in the correct diagnosis and treatment planning. Aims and Objective: The study aimed to compare the subjective image quality of selected anatomical landmarks on CCD-based panoramic images with and without processing. The objective was to highlight the importance of processed images, which are frequent in day-to-day practice. Materials and Methods: The study comprised 60 subjects with a complete complement of permanent teeth excluding third molars. Selected subjects were clinically examined, and a digital panoramic examination was done. The radiograph obtained was assessed for the subjective image analysis based on the visibility of six major anatomical landmarks using a 3-point scale, and the overall image assessment was done using a 4-point scale. The data was tabulated for statistical analysis. Results: Digital panoramic radiographs with post-processing showed superior visibility with regard to the six anatomical landmarks as well as for overall image assessment which was found to be statistically significant (P <.05). Conclusion: Post-processing tools such as sharpening and gamma with sharpening were best to visualize anatomical landmarks.