ASSESSMENT OF TRABECULAR CHANGES IN FURCATION INVOLVEMENT USING FRACTAL ANALYSIS

Background and Aim: To evaluate the potential impact of the presence and extent of furcation involvement (FI) on trabecular bone changes, both on digital orthopantomography (OPG) and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images, using fractal analysis. Materials and Methods: In the present study, a total of 51 mandibular molars, of which 28 were determined as degree I FI (FI-I), and 23 were determined as degree II FI (FI-II) were included, while 43 mandibular molars without any evidence of FI (non-FI) served as the control group. Fractal dimensions (FD) were calculated using digital panoramic and CBCT images with Image J software. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to compare the FD-FI diagnostic capacity of OPG and CBCT images. Results: The FD values of digital panoramic and CBCT images were significantly higher in the control group than in the FI-I and FI-II groups (p<0.05). Also, the FD calculated on digital panoramic radiographs was markedly higher than the FDs of CBCT in all groups (p<0.05). The area under ROC curves for differentiating FI-I from the non-FI group were 0.752 and 0.828, and to diagnose FI-II were 0.877 and 0.902 for OPG_FD and CBCT_FD, respectively. Conclusion: As fractal analysis has the potential to determine the presence, extent, and severity of FI in both panoramic and CBCT images, it can serve as a measure for a thorough analysis of cases with FI. When FI is considered a vital complexity factor in periodontal diseases/conditions, the benefit of reliable measures