Abstract
The objective of this study was to explore the feasibility of current 3D reconstruction in assessing the position of maxillary impacted canines from 2D panoramic X-rays. A dataset was created using pre-treatment CBCT data from a total of 123 patients, comprising 74 patients with impacted canines and 49 patients without impacted canines. From all 74 subjects, we generated a dataset containing paired 2D panoramic X-rays and pseudo-3D images. This pseudo-3D image contained information about the location of the impacted canine in the buccal/lingual, mesial/distal, and apical/coronal positions. These data were utilized to train a deep-learning reconstruction algorithm, a generative AI. The location of the crown of the maxillary impacted canine was determined based on the output of the algorithm. The reconstruction was evaluated using the structure similarity index measure (SSIM) as a metric to indicate the quality of the reconstruction. The prediction of the impacted canine's location was assessed in both the mesiodistal and buccolingual directions. The reconstruction algorithm predicts the position of the impacted canine in the buccal, middle, or lingual position with 41% accuracy, while the mesial and distal positions are predicted with 55% accuracy. The mean SSIM for the output is 0.71, with a range of 0.63 to 0.84. Our study represents the first application of AI reconstruction output for multidisciplinary care involving orthodontists, periodontists, and maxillofacial surgeons in diagnosing and treating maxillary impacted canines. Further development of deep-learning algorithms is necessary to enhance the robustness of dental reconstruction applications.