Automatic classification of teeth in bitewing dental images

We present an automated algorithm to classify teeth in bitewing dental images, using Bayesian classification, and assign an absolute number to each tooth based on common numbering system used in dentistry. Fourier descriptors of the contours of the molar and the premolar teeth in bitewing images are used in the Bayesian classification of these two types of the teeth. Then, the spatial relation between the two types of the teeth is considered to number each tooth and correct the misclassification of some teeth in order to obtain high precision results. Experiments with 50 bitewing images containing more than 400 teeth show that our method is capable of classifying and assigning absolute index number to the teeth with high accuracy.