Assoc. Professor Katarina Beljić-Ivanović

NEW DAYS FOR ENDODONTIC PRACTICE WITH CONE-BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) or Digital volumetric tomography (DVT) is the greatest breakthrough in dental imaging technology of the 21st century, primarily because for the first time a practitioner can use a harmless radiographic system as a powerful tool to visualize any area of interest in all three planes, obtaining 3D images. The lecture presents a series of CBCT images and a detailed analysis of various morphological groups of teeth, with particular emphasis on the mandibular premolars and maxillary molars, in both extracted teeth and clinical cases with unusual and complex root and root canal anatomy, relation and special orientation of the roots to surrounding anatomical structures, and interrelationship among canals inside the multi- canal roots. The significance of the canal orifice geometry, number, location and dimension of the apical foramen/foramina and their impact on the working length determination, development and treatment plan of various periapical and periradicular pathosis is pointed out. The incidence/frequency of the anatomical modalities in maxillary molars and mandibular premolars in the Serbian population, which has been studied throughout the last two decades, with special interest in teeth with fused roots, is shown in detail. Its impact on the difficulties and possible complications during operative procedures and root canal instrumentation is explored, focusing on important stages of endodontic therapy, treatment outcome and follow ups of different types of endodontic pathology. The ability of CBCT and its software to acquire and reveal “hidden” details of interest for clinical endodontics is epmhasised.

Katarina Beljić-Ivanović is an Associate Professor of Restorative Odontology and Endodontics, specialized in Restorative Odontology and Endodontics (2002), and attained an MSc (2003) and PhD (2015), all at the School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade. She is currently head of Preclinical Endodontics, head of the clinical Continuing Education (CE) programme: “Innovations in Endodontic Knowledge”, and mentors PhD students and specialist’s residents at the School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade.
She is a member of the Serbian Medical Society, the Serbian Endodontic Society (SES), the Balkan Society of Stomatology (BaSS), and the European Society of Endodontology (ESE), and is the secretary of the Executive Board of the Serbian Endodontic Society. She co-authored three textbooks and published fifteen articles in journals on the SCI/ESCI list, as well as eighteen articles in international and national reference journals. She lectured at thirty seven international and national symposia, conferences, and congresses, and was the keynote speaker at ten national and international conferences.

She participated in two international projects financed by the European Society of Endodontology. Her field of expertise is the application of CBCT techniques and technology in endodontics, and is an expert in endodontic therapy in clinical cases of teeth with complex root canal anatomy and complex pathological status.