Carotid artery calcification (CAC) detected on panoramic radiographs can serve as an early indicator of systemic atherosclerotic disease. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of CAC in digital panoramic radiographs of dental implant patients and to evaluate its association with systemic diseases in a sample of the Turkish population. This retrospective cross-sectional study included 254 implant patients who attended follow-up visits between December 2022 and January 2024. Age, gender, number of implants, presence of CAC, and systemic disease status (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease) were analyzed. All panoramic radiographs were assessed by one experienced oral and maxillofacial surgeon in two separate sessions with a 2-week interval to evaluate intra-observer consistency. Cohen’s kappa (κ = 0.86) confirmed excellent agreement. Logistic regression was performed to determine associations between systemic variables and CAC. CAC was detected in 60 of 254 patients (23.6%). Hypertension was the most prevalent systemic condition associated with CAC (46.7% of affected patients). Logistic regression revealed significant associations between CAC and several systemic diseases: hypertension (OR = 48.04), diabetes mellitus (OR = 43.57), cardiovascular disease (OR = 40.92), hyperlipidemia (OR = 33.20), and atherosclerosis (OR = 26.38) ( p < 0.05). Significant associations were observed between CAC and systemic diseases; however, the magnitude of these associations should be interpreted with caution. On the other hand, panoramic radiographs in dental clinics can incidentally reveal carotid artery calcifications (CAC), which reflect underlying systemic atherosclerosis. Therefore, dentists play a crucial role in the early prevention of stroke and cardiovascular events by identifying carotid artery calcification and referring patients for medical evaluation.
Bingül et al. (Sat,) studied this question.