Measurement of Oral Epithelial Thickness by Optical Coherence Tomography
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Date
2019-08-06
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Authors
Stasio, Dario Di
Lauritano, Dorina
Iquebal, Hasan
Romano, Antonio
Gentile, Enrica
Lucchese, Alberta
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Abstract
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a real-time, in-situ, non-invasive imaging device
that is able to perform a cross-sectional evaluation of tissue microstructure based on the specific
intensity of back-scattered and reflected light. The aim of the present study was to define normal
values of epithelial thickness within the oral cavity. OCT measurements of epithelial thickness were
performed in 28 healthy patients at six different locations within the oral cavity. Image analysis
was performed using Image J 1.52 software. The healthy epithelium has a mean thickness of
335.59 ± 150.73 µm. According to its location within the oral cavity, the epithelium showed highest
values in the region of the buccal mucosa (659.79 µm) and the thinnest one was observed in the
mouth’s floor (100.07 µm). OCT has been shown to be useful for the evaluation of oral mucosa
in vivo and in real time. Our study provides reference values for the epithelial thickness of multiple
sites within the oral cavity. Knowledge of the thickness values of healthy mucosa is, therefore, of
fundamental importance.
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DOI
10.3390/diagnostics9030090