Modern medicine offers a variety of methods for diagnosing the human body. One of the safest is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
MRI is a method that allows you to visualize the internal organs of a person by placing it in a permanent magnetic field. The procedure allows to diagnose soft tissues well, shows metabolic and physiological processes in organs, tissues, joints and bones.
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Indications for MRI
Can't do without it when diagnosing the following conditions.
- Pathology of the spinal cord, pituitary and nervous system.
- Injuries of soft tissues of internal organs.
- Tumor processes: both malignant and benign.
- Inflammatory and infectious processes in the joints and bones.
- Monitoring surgery with radiation and chemotherapy.
Obviously, the range of diagnostics is quite wide, almost everyone can be examined by MRI, even pregnant women. There is only one contraindication for this diagnostic method - the presence of magnetic metal structures in the human body, which include not only metal parts of structures, but also various defibrillators, pacemakers. Often patients have a question: should dental prosthetic structures in the oral cavity, including dental implants, be considered an obstacle for such an examination?
MRI and dental implants
Doctors say with full responsibility: the presence of implants and braces in the patient’s oral cavity is not a contraindication for MRI.
Let's see why.
Modern dentistry uses to install dentures different methods and materials. But today it is, as a rule, designs made of non-magnetic alloys, such as titanium, gold. According to the degree of magnetization, there are three types of metals:
- paramagnetic - substances, weakly attracted to the magnet;
- diamagnetic - materials, slightly repelled by a magnet;
- ferromagnets are materials that actively interact with a magnet.
Today, mouthparts are made mostly of paramagnetic, and earlier ferromagnetic were widely used. alloys of nickel, steel, iron.
Therefore, the materials from which the crowns for the teeth are made will behave differently in the magnetic field of the tomograph. Since the crowns and pins are rigidly fixed, the displacement under the action of the magnetic field will not occur, the ferromagnetic inserts in the teeth may heat up a little, but this does not happen in MRI devices. But the presence of dental implants, braces, metal fixed prostheses may cause interferenceThat will certainly affect the quality of the picture. Moreover, the further the studied part of the body from the oral cavity, the less likely the distortion of images.
Possible impact of implants on the study area
- When examining an MRI of the neck and head, the effect of dental prostheses can cause serious distortions, greatly affecting the image quality.
- When examining the chest, the result will depend on the characteristics of the MRI apparatus itself and on the material on the dental crowns. Decide the feasibility of such a procedure should be with the doctor performing the diagnostic procedure.
- When examining the lower parts of the spine and legs, metal inserts in the mouth, whatever they are, will not cause any damage to the quality of the images.
In any case, in preparation for the procedure should inform the doctorwho carries out diagnostics using MRI, the presence of metal prostheses and dental implants. The MRI allows you to adjust the recording parameters so as to compensate for possible distortion. It is recommended to bring an x-ray picture of the jaw with you so that the doctor can correctly determine the location of the prosthetic teeth. Then the quality of the survey can be considered effective.
Detailed analysis of the oral cavity
As for the study of the oral cavity with the help of MRI - this is a very rare appointment, not only because the procedure will be difficult due to the distortions created by implants of teeth and other metal inserts in the oral cavity. Also because there is a simpler and more affordable way to study the teeth - computed tomography and conventional x-rays.
For examination of the mouth, you can use special computer tomograph (CT) The computed tomography method is based on X-rays and with its help dense environments look good: bones, joints, teeth. The procedure is carried out sitting, takes a minimum of time and is quite informative. To obtain such a result, as on CT, would have to do a lot of conventional x-rays of the tooth.
Hence the conclusion: an MRI scan of those parts of the body where there are metal structures is impractical due to the lack of information on the data obtained. Therefore, before examining the head, if there are metal prostheses in the mouth, you should consult with your doctor. The rest - the presence of dental implants can not prevent the detailed diagnosis of the body by MRI.