Introduction: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), being a technique with huge potential, has become the primary diagnostic investigation for many clinical problems. Its application now has been successfully used in dentistry to maximize the diagnostic certainty.
Aim: The present review aims to analyze the applicability, feasibility and efficacy of MRI in the field of dentistry.
Materials and methods: A literature search was performed in main databases like Pub Med Central, Cochrane Library, Embase and Google Scholar from 1970 up to December 2015. The 2672 titles that appeared, 25 fulfilled the criteria and were included in the review. Two articles were hand searched and three articles through e-mail were also included.
Results: The review highlights the increasing role of MRI in dentistry. In the available literature, it was found that T1 and T2 weighted images were the acceptable diagnostic images for detection of dental related diseases.
Conclusion: MRI can be used in diagnosis and treatment planning of implants, jaw lesions, diseases of Temporomandibular Joints (TMJ), orthodontic treatment, endodontic treatment etc., to achieve better prognosis.
Keywords: Dental Implant; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Stainless steel; Temporomandibular joint.