Medicina oral, patologia oral y cirugia bucal
Artificial Intelligence for Assessing the Relationship Between Mandibular Third Molars and the Inferior Alveolar Nerve on Panoramic Radiographs: A Systematic Review
By Elwy FK, Parra-Moreno J, González-Navarro B and 2 others.
Abstract
Background
Extracting mandibular third molars is a common procedure that carries a risk of injury to the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN). Panoramic radiographs (PR) are commonly used for preoperative assessment of the mandibular third molars, but they are not very reliable for evaluating the relationship of the IAN. This systematic review aims to evaluate the accuracy of artificial intelligence (AI) models in assessing the relationship between mandibular third molars and the IAN.
Materials and methods
We conducted systematic searches in MEDLINE (via PubMed), the Cochrane Library, Embase, and Scopus for studies published between January 2020 and April 2026. Eligible studies evaluated artificial intelligence systems that analyze panoramic radiographs to assess the relationship between mandibular third molars and the IAN, using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) or expert assessments as references. The studies had to report key diagnostic performance metrics. Two independent reviewers carried out study selection, data extraction, and risk-of-bias assessments using the QUADAS-2 tool.