Currrent Considerations in the Study of Image of Soft Tissue Calcification in Mandibular Angle Area

Ivonne Garay & Sergio Olate

Summary

Soft tissue calcifications in the maxillofacial region are rare, however, may represent radiographic findings in routine dental radiographs such as panoramic radiographs and lateral cephalometric radiographs. These calcifications are presented as radiopacities mainly in the mandibular angle, sometimes in dentist may have difficulty in their identification and diagnosis. Calcification can be dystrophic, idiopathic or metastatic, the latter being extremely rare in the oral region. Calcifications largely described in the literature are carotid artery calcifications, sialoliths calcification of lymph nodes, tonsil stones and phleboliths. The available literature, however, is limited in quantity and value of the evidence, most of the studies found correspond to case reports. The following literature review aims to collect scientific information regarding idiopathic dystrophic calcifications and calcifications observed in mandibular angle, addressing clinical and imaging aspects.

KEY WORDS: calcinosis, panoramic radiograph, calcification.

How to cite this article

GARAY, I. & OLATE, S. Currrent considerations in the study of image of softtissue calcification in mandibular angle area. Int. J. Odontostomat., 7(3):455-464, 2013.