Guide to the Diagnosis of Jaw Lesions According to Radiographic Manifestations

Abstract

Abstract This stand-alone teaching module is designed to help oral radiology and oral pathology professors teach maxillofacial diagnosis using an easy and effective approach. The resource also constitutes a great aid for dental students and young professionals when dealing with the radiographic differential diagnosis of maxillofacial lesions. The module reviews most of the maxillofacial complex conditions with radiographic manifestations. It includes many PowerPoint presentations, an instructor's guide, and a lesions flowchart. We have used the flowchart for more than 20 years with undergraduate and postgraduate dental students, who find it a great help. By itself, though, the flowchart is too theoretical; the PowerPoint illustration of each manifestation adds an important dimension to the overall resource. The addition of examples of radiographic appearance, differential diagnoses, and case illustrations was made recently, to enable students to expand their understanding of radiographic manifestations and to facilitate reaching a logical diagnosis. An important point made by users was that due to their poor experience in the field, they were not able to easily identify the location of the lesion; they suggested highlighting it by means of color arrows. With this interactive process, students can reach a diagnosis more easily than before, and they enjoy the activity as well. The resource is user friendly and effective. This model can be applied to many other fields and to other specialties. We have used this module in clinic-pathologic conferences, in radiology laboratories, in radiology and pathology clinics during training, individually in the clinic, and also in class with a large number of students. Our experience is that in large groups, when everybody has an individual computer with the module, the students enjoy and play with the resource, opening different cases and making comments. When the module is used in large groups and everybody is focused in the same case, or when it is used individually or in small groups, the learning is even more effective.

Keywords

• Radiography
• Imaging
• Radiographic Manifestations
• Maxillofacial Diagnosis
• Maxillofacial Injuries