Incidental findings are common in the maxillary sinus. Fewer studies have addressed the prevalence of maxillary sinus pathologies .These sinus abnormalities are benign, self limiting and usually go unnoticed in asymptomatic patients but are important for avoiding failures in future procedures involving maxillary sinus.
Aim: To assess the prevalence of incidental maxillary sinus pathologies on CBCT scans Objectives: To categorize incidental findings based on the parameters- Age, gender, type of pathology and to increase the awareness of the reporting radiologists and dental practitioners with regards to the range of findings.
Materials and methods: Retrospective study was carried out using 271 CBCT scans for evaluation of maxillary sinus pathologies. The CBCT Scans were observed in the Coronal, Sagittal and Axial views, for evaluating radiopacities and mucosal thickening. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Out of 271 scans, only 118 CBCT scans showed incidental maxillary sinus pathologic findings. Total prevalence of incidental pathologies was 43.54% in the total scans examined. Most prevalent incidental pathologic maxillary sinus findings in CBCT scans was Mucosal thickening in 74 (62%) (p -0.006) followed by Polypoidal thickening in 31 (26.3%)( p - 0.000). The difference in the frequency was observed to be statistically significant.
Conclusions: Based on our study, it can be concluded that the prevalence of incidental maxillary sinus pathologies is high in the dental patients. Pathological changes in the maxillary antrum can be easily identified on CBCT images. CBCT as a new 3D imaging modality could be of clinical value in screening for the maxillary sinus pathologies.
