OBJECTIVE: To conduct a comparative analysis between manual and computerized tracings using specific software, in order to define inter- and intra-evaluator results. METHODS: A sample was used consisting of 50 standardized lateral cephalometric radiographs, of male and female patients of various age groups. The radiographs were analyzed by two evaluators, who each performed the manual and computerized tracings of all 50 radiographs. Angular and linear measurements were obtained, which were later submitted to the Mann-Whitney test in order to compare the inter- and intra-evaluator results between the two types of tracings. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: the study concluded that confidence can be increased in tracings obtained from computer-assisted cephalometric analysis, as the discrepancies found between inter- and intra-evaluator tracings, both manual and computerized, were mostly not statistically significant.
Radiography; Cephalometrics; Craniometry
