Atherosclerosis is generally asymptomatic and often not detected by routine diagnostic techniques. If untreated it may lead to myocardial infarctions, stroke, and death. Objectives: To assess whether dental i-CAT^TM cone beam scans can accurately identify the incidence of atherosclerotic lesions in the internal carotid arteries. Methods: i-CAT^TM (Imaging Sciences International, Hatfield, PA, USA) cone beam scans were performed on 16 cadaver heads (32 internal carotid arteries) at 0.3mm resolution. Scans were evaluated for the presence of atherosclerotic lesions in the internal carotid artery at four locations: the bifurcation, cervical portion, petrous portion, and cavernous portion. Anatomical specimens of the vessels were removed at the four areas examined on the scans and histological slides of the vessels were made. Results: In 87.5% of the cadavers, atherosclerotic lesions were observed at some point in the internal carotid artery. The majority of the lesions (81.3%) were observed in the cavernous sinus portion. Lesions were also detected at the bifurcation (31.3%) and cervical (16.6%) portions. Atherosclerotic lesions were least observed in the petrous portion (6.3%) of the internal carotid. All positive findings of the lesions were confirmed with histological sections of the vessel at their respective locations. The correlation percentage of atherosclerotic lesions observed on the scans to the histological slides was 100%. Conclusions: Dental i-CAT^TM cone beam scans accurately identify atherosclerotic lesions in the internal carotid artery.

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