Towards Dental MRI: Zero TE Imaging of Compromised Equine Teeth

Stefan Zwick¹, Jan-Bernd Hvener¹, Jochen Leupold¹, Frank Schellenberger², Dominik V. Elverfeldt¹

Most endodontal diseases of equine teeth cant be diagnosed at an early stage because of unspecific symptoms and lack of diagnostic tools. Often secondary manifestations permit diagnosis years after the onset; too late for early restorative treatment. Here, we show that ZTE imaging at 9.4T can image solid components of horse tooth and visualize inherent structural differences between healthy and impaired pulps. Clearly, high-field MRI will not become standard veterinarian equipment as well as dental MRI will not get into clinical routine. However, methods like ZTE widen the field of MRI as shown by proof-of-principle studies like the presented one.