Diagnosis of Vertical Root Fracture by Digital Radiography With and Without Unsharp Masking Filter: An In-vitro Study

Background and Objectives The digital radiography offers a variety of image processing techniques. Due to the importance of the accuracy of this method and its widespread applications, in this study we aim to investigate the diagnose of vertical root fracture (VRF) by conventional digital radiography with and without unsharp masking (UM) filter. Subjects and Methods Radiographs were taken from 24 extracted anterior teeth before and after VRF induction. The root canal was prepared with passive step-back technique, and then the teeth were divided into two halves buccolingually with a very thin disk. The two halves were re-attached to each other and mounted in a mixture of gypsum and sawdust. After processing by the UM filter, the radiographs were evaluated by two observers to detect the presence or absence of VRF. Results For the first observer, the sensitivity of both methods was the same, while the specificity of the UM filtering mode was higher. For the second observer, the sensitivity of the unfiltered mode was higher, while the specificity of the two methods was the same. Conclusion There is no significant difference between digital radiography with and without the UM filter in diagnosing VRF. Due to the high sensivity and specifity of the UM filtering method, the specialist can use this filter based on personal preferences.