3D cephalometric analysis obtained from computed tomography. Review of the literature.

The aim of this systematic review is to estimate accuracy and reproducibility of craniometric measurements and reliability of landmarks identified with computed tomography (CT) techniques in 3D cephalometric analysis. Computerized and manual searches were conducted up to 2011 for studies that addressed these objectives. The selection criteria were: (1) the use of human specimen; (2) the comparison between 2D and 3D cephalometric analysis; (3) the assessment of accuracy, reproducibility of measurements and reliability of landmark identification with CT images compared with two-dimensional conventional radiographs. The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions was used as the guideline for this article. Twenty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. Most of them demonstrated high measurements accuracy and reproducibility, and landmarks reliability, but their cephalometric analysis methodology varied widely. These differencies among the studies in making measurements don't permit a direct comparison between them. The future developments in the knowledge of these techniques should provide a standardized method to conduct the 3D CT cephalometric analysis.