CLINICAL FINDINGS AND DIAGNOSTIC YIELD OF DENTAL RADIOGRAPHIC EXAMINATIONS IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA

Background: Oral diseases are the most common non-communicable diseases, causing pain, discomfort, and in extreme cases, death. Dental radiography is one of the clinical tools employed during diagnostic workups for dental complaints. Objective: To determine the diagnostic yield of dental radiography in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria. Methods: Using simple random sampling, ninety-two radiography reports from a pool of dental examinations conducted over 2 years were selected. Information obtained includes the patient’s age, gender, clinical history, and radiographic findings. Results: 45 female (48.9%) and 47 male (51.1%) patients aged between 21 and 30 years presented to the department. Only two (2.2%) asymptomatic patients came for a routine dental check-up. Respectively, tooth pain (n = 71, 77.2%) and dental caries (n = 37, 40.2%) were the most prevalent clinical symptoms and findings, while dental radiolucency, presenting majorly as periapical radiolucency, was the commonest radiographic finding (n = 22, 23.9%). Chi-square test demonstrated a strong association between clinical and radiographic findings (X2: 235.9, p<0.005). No visible pathology was seen in 8 (8.7%) of the radiographs. Conclusion: Dental caries was the most prevalent dental disease. Radiographic examinations provided a high diagnostic yield as they demonstrated a strong association with clinical findings. It remains a pivotal examination during the clinical workup of patients with dental anomalies.