Cone beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) is increasingly used in dental clinical routine. Incidental findings (IFs) on CBCT images can have clinical significance and impact patient health. Therefore, the correct assessment, interpretation and management of IFs is of utmost importance to avoid unnecessary intervention and - whenever needed - to ensure proper patient care, early referral or intervention.

An incidental finding (IF) is described by the American College of Radiology (ACR) as “an incidentally discovered mass or lesion, detected by CT, MRI, or any other imaging modality performed for an unrelated reason” [1], [2], [3]. According to the AAE (American Association of Endodontists) and the AAOMR (American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology) [4], the prescribing clinician should always analyse the entire imaged volume, not only the area of interest. In case of doubt regarding the interpretation of specific radiologic findings, questions and concerns should be addressed to a specialized oral and maxillofacial radiologist (OMFR) [9]. Consequently, a dentist can be held responsible for missing a diagnosis. A balance should be reached regarding patient handling; significant IFs should be reported whereas diagnosing nonexistent entities or insignificant conditions should be avoided, as these may lead to overtreatment, unnecessary imaging and significant patient anxiety. [5], [2]

This master thesis aims to review the current literature dealing with incidental findings (IFs) detected on CBCT scans performed for dental purposes. All articles used for this review mentioned the reason why CBCT was performed, the age, gender, and the sample size, the percentage of IFs, types of findings, the size of the field of view (FOV) used for imaging, as well as the clinical outcome and management of such findings. To illustrate characteristic IFs in this master thesis, CBCT images from the Unit of Maxillo-facial and Head and Neck Radiology of the Division of Radiology of the University Hospitals in Geneva were used.