Introduction: 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.
Methods: 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.
Results: 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.
Conclusion: 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.
Keywords: accuracy; computed tomography; reliability; reproducibility; three-dimensional cephalometry.