Freitas NR1, Costa MSC2, Santos RCV1, Paula MD1, Yaedú RY1,2, Oliveira TM1,2, Almeida ALPF1,2*
1Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies, University of São Paulo, Bauru, Brazil
2Bauru School of Dentistry, Bauru, Brazil
Correspondence author: Ana Lúcia Pompéia Fraga de Almeida, Departamento de Prótese e Periodontia, Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru, Universidade de São Paulo. Alameda Dr. Octávio Pinheiro Brisolla, 9-75, Bauru, SP, Brazil; E-mail: [email protected]
Published Date: 03-02-2024
Copyright© 2024 by Almeida ALPF, et al. All rights reserved. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Infrared thermography is a precise, non-invasive and safe method for measuring superficial temperature, with increasing application in different areas of dentistry, such as endodontics, implantology, restorative dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics, surgery and principally, for the diagnosis of temporomandibular dysfunction. The aim of this study is to briefly present how thermographic imaging has been used in dentistry. The use of thermography is still restricted in dentistry, but it has great potential for use in daily practice.
Infrared thermography is a precise, non-invasive and safe method for measuring superficial temperature, with increasing application in different areas of dentistry, such as endodontics, implantology, restorative dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics, surgery and principally, for the diagnosis of temporomandibular dysfunction. The aim of this study is to briefly present how thermographic imaging has been used in dentistry. The use of thermography is still restricted in dentistry, but it has great potential for use in daily practice.
Mini Review
For centuries, body temperature has been used as a parameter of normality, as well as the relationship between heat and pathological processes. It is directly related to blood flow, regulated by the autonomic nervous system and affects both sides of the body in a uniform and simultaneous manner, producing a symmetrical thermal pattern in the face of normality conditions [1-3] Different disorders can affect blood flow and result in abnormal temperature distribution providing important diagnostic information [4].
It is a sensitive method for measuring the temperature, being a complementary image exam of non-invasive, painless and non-ionizing, which uses infrared radiation emitted by the body. It provides images with precision of spatial resolution, where minimal temperature differences can be evaluated. It provides information in real time of the physiological functions related to thermoregulation, in addition to detecting the extent of functional, nervous and vascular changes, based on the greater or lesser radiance of each region [5,6]. The images obtained through this type of examination can be applied as an auxiliary method in diagnosis, as a form of evaluation in therapeutic interventions or in evolutionary monitoring of pathologies8 in several areas of health, including Dentistry [7].
In dentistry, an instrument of this size has the ability to be very useful to assist in the diagnosis of some functional disorders such as myofacial pain, nerve alterations, herpes labialis in the prodromal phase, periodontal diseases, postoperative evaluation and also as a research tool for evaluation amount of heat transmitted to dental and periodontal tissues during a variety of dental procedures [2-4,7-20]. However, the lack of use protocols, the reduced number of studies and the change in temperature measurement caused by external agents still limit the use of this technique.
Most articles on infrared thermography in the field of dentistry refer to the method as a complementary exam for the diagnosis of temporomandibular disorders and evaluating the effectiveness of various therapies [21-24]. Even though it is the most studied subject, probably because it is a pathological alteration that is difficult to diagnose, the conclusions are not yet unanimous. Several authors have stated that thermography is a useful and promising test in the diagnosis of temporomandibular disorders, however, despite the good diagnostic utility found for thermography, there is still a need for further studies about the subject [1-4,7,9,10-12].
Nerve alterations are common complications in the dental field, whether due to trauma or surgery. Therefore, an examination that is able to diagnose these complications and assess the effectiveness of therapeutic treatment is important. Some authors conducted studies and obtained positive results regarding the effectiveness of thermography in detecting neurological changes in the lower alveolar nerve and others conclude in their studies that infrared thermography has little value in assessing infraorbital nerve deficiency [4,13,25]. The discrepancies in conclusions may arise from the fact that the referred studies do not present standardized methodologies with different cameras and temperatures [4,13,25].
In the field of Periodontics, there are few reports in the literature on the use of infrared thermography. Some studies were used to evaluate the reheating of gingival tissue in patients with periodontal disease and patients with periodontium within normal standards [15,16]. Another study concludes that there is no difference in temperature between the different types of gingival phenotypes [18]. There is a temperature difference between the different gingival regions [16,26]. Studies have obtained similar results, suggesting that infrared thermography can detect static and dynamic temperature differences between healthy gums and inflamed gums [16,26]. Recently, thermography has also been used in some studies as a method of analyzing results when comparing different therapies and surgical techniques [17]. This set of studies indicates the feasibility of further developing the use of this promising and non-invasive method for the evaluation of gingival pathologies and procedures inherent to Periodontics.
In endodontics, in-vitro studies have been carried out to evaluate the change in pulp/root temperature during instrumentation and root filling with different materials and as a diagnostic tool for periapical inflammatory lesions [27,31,32].
Analysis of bone temperature changes during drilling of bone tissue for implant installation during the use of osteotomy equipment, maxillary sinus lift, post-operative analysis of surgical procedures has also been carried out using thermographic imaging [33-41].
The use of thermographic imaging has also been studied to evaluate temperature changes after dental caries removal techniques, after light-curing materials with different composite thicknesses after making provisional restorations and finally, analysis of the muscles during mastication [42-45].
In dentistry, the approach by means of infrared thermography has good potential both in the diagnosis of chronic and acute conditions, because, as inflammation generates thermal products, this method is important in the early detection of pathologies [46]. However, due to so many possibilities of interference in the obtention images and the lack of approach to these aspects in the description of several studies, it is necessary that more research be carried out and published, in order to reach a consensus on standardization of technique and reliability of results, enabling the clinical applicability of this method in its totality.
Infrared thermography is a precise, non-invasive and safe method for measuring superficial temperature, with increasing application in different areas of Dentistry. However, it presents some clinical limitations that need to be overcome, for example, the need for a greater number of studies published in the literature and the development of a protocol for use, to standardize the obtaining of thermograms, offering more reliable results that can be compared.
Conflict of Interests
The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
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Article Type
Review Article
Publication History
Received Date: 11-12-2023
Accepted Date: 26-01-2024
Published Date: 03-02-2024
Copyright© 2024 by Almeida ALPF, et al. All rights reserved. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Almeida ALPF, et al. Applicability of Infrared Thermography in Dentistry: Mini Review. J Dental Health Oral Res. 2024;5(1):1-4.
