Prevalence of Soft Tissue Calcifications in Panoramic Radiographs of Patients Referred to Guilan School of Dentistry Within 1 Year and its Relationship With Systemic Diseases

Background: Soft tissue calcifications are the deposition of calcium salts, mainly calcium phosphate, in soft tissue. They most often are detected as incidental findings during radiographic examinations. The goal is to identify them correctly to determine whether treatment is required. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of soft tissue calcifications in panoramic radiographs and their relationship with age, gender and underlying diseases. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, panoramic radiographs of 654 patients were examined within one year. The prevalence of soft tissue calcification, their location and certain factors such as age, sex, underlying disease were examined. Results: The prevalence of elongated stylohyoid ligament calcification, laryngeal cartilage calcification, carotid artery calcification, lymph node calcification, and sialolith were 20.2%, 9.8%, 2.4%, 1.8%, 0.6%, and 0.1%, respectively. Stylohyoid ligament and vascular calcifications were significantly correlated with cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Gender and soft tissue calcification were not significantly associated. The prevalence of tonsillolith was significantly higher in men (P=0.0001). A significant correlation was found between soft tissue calcification and age groups, so that as age increased, the prevalence of carotid artery calcification, stylohyoid ligament calcification, and tonsillolith increased. Conclusions: The present study shows that soft tissue calcifications are not unusual findings in panoramic radiographs. They increase significantly with aging but have no significant association with gender. The prevalence of soft tissue calcification is higher in cardiovascular disease patients.