• Fotini-Maria Avramidou, Eleni Markou, and Theodoros Lambrianidis.
• General dental practitioner, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece. avramidoufay@yahoo.gr
• Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 2008 Sep 1;106(3):e38-43.

ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of radiopacities in the jaws of a Greek population sample.Study DesignPanoramic radiographs of 3,513 patients retrieved from 10 practices in Northern Greece were examined for the presence of radiopacities without the knowledge of the medical histories. Of the initial sample size, 47 radiographs were excluded owing to technical errors. Descriptive characteristics of radiopacities including shape, size, and location, as well as information concerning the tooth involved and the adjacent and opposing teeth, were recorded. All analyses were performed using SPSS software. The Pearson chi-squared test was used to examine the distributions of gender, shape, size, and location.ResultsA total of 72 radiopacities were identified in 69 patients (1.96% of the total sample of panoramic radiographs), showing a greater predilection in the mandibular premolar-molar region (78.3% of radiopacities observed); 44.9% of the radiopacities were associated with intact teeth or teeth with shallow filling/caries, whereas 26.1% were associated with heavily decayed/filled teeth. One-half of the radiopacities identified were circular, and the diameter varied from 1 to 2 cm.ConclusionThe results indicate the rarity of radiopacities (1.96%) in the Greek population sample that was examined and the predilection for their occurrence in the jaws.

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