About / methodology & acknowledgements

About ORAD

ORAD helps you build a differential diagnosis for radiographic lesions of the jaws. You record what you see. It compares those findings against how often each lesion actually shows them, and ranks the candidates by probability. The underlying method is an application of Bayes' theorem, published by Stuart White in 1989.

This program is intended to serve as an aid to the clinician. It is not a substitute for professional judgment.

What's new

  • Classic ORAD is still here. Enter findings and get a ranked differential, now updating live as you answer. The "Unknown" buttons are gone; leaving a question blank does the same thing.
  • Constantly updated. Lesions are regularly reviewed against current literature, and new lesions are added as they're described.
  • The Lesion Atlas. Every lesion now has its own page with a summary, its radiographic profile and cited references.
  • ORAD Map (Beta). See how the lesions in your differential relate to each other.
  • Works on phones and tablets.

What's next

  • Features marked Soon in the menu, including a DICOM viewer.
  • Have a correction or suggestion? Email us at the address in the Contact section.

How it works

Pick the findings you see. Leave anything you're unsure of blank: it won't count for or against any lesion.

The Differential lists the lesions that fit, most likely first. Click a name to read about it in the Lesion Atlas.

The prevalence button (top right of the Differential) also weighs how common each lesion is. Turn it off to rank on your findings alone.

Click × next to a lesion to set it aside for this case. It moves to Set aside, below the list, where you can restore it.

Open the differential tool →

Acknowledgements

  • Stuart C. White, DDS, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, UCLA School of Dentistry: created ORAD, adapted its Bayesian methodology (1989), and maintains the lesion database.
  • William L. Scheding: built the original ORAD website in 1998.
  • Mohammed Husain, DDS, Assistant Clinical Professor, UCLA School of Dentistry: for stewarding ORAD at UCLA and supporting its continued development.
  • Jason Lai, DDS, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiologist: built the current ORAD.
  • The UCLA School of Dentistry, Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology: for supporting ORAD.
  • Prodontic, co-founded by Jason Lai: maintains ORAD.

Contact

Email Jason Lai, DDS at jasonklai8800@gmail.com with questions or suggestions about this reference site.

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