CBCT: Three-dimensional Imaging and Cone Beam Computed Tomography
Dental radiology has come a long way in the past few years, and CBCT is a good example of how radiology imaging has advanced to meet the needs of the dental patient.
At Advanced Family Dentistry, we have invested in CBCT in order to help our patients get more efficient and more effective treatment.
What is CBCT?
Cone beam computed tomography is a type of computed tomography that uses a particular model to achieve specific results for dental practices.
Computed tomography or CT is the use of many x-ray images from different angles to come up with a composite image that helps medical professionals evaluate a patient. In dental practices, the CT focuses on the mouth and sinus area and other nearby areas of the body.
The difference with CBCT is that instead of using a traditional fan shape, CBCT uses a cone beam shape that provides for different uses.
Benefits of CBCT
One of the benefits of CBCT is that these machines are more affordable for dental practices, and that means that patients and doctors can utilize them in a greater number of dental offices.
CBCT also does not require patient movement, which is another big benefit. There’s also a lower dose of radiation, and the machine is smaller and fits better into small office and exam room spaces.
What is CBCT Used For?
CBCT is used for many different kinds of issues in dental practices. It’s often used to look at tooth impaction – for example, where the proliferation of wisdom teeth has changed how teeth are positioned in the mouth, or how an injury may have changed tooth position.
CBCT can also be used to study conditions like TMJ or in evaluating airways, or to plan for orthodontics.
Another big use of CBCT is in the growing number of procedures that involve dental implants. Dental implants help create permanent replacements for a missing tooth or multiple missing teeth. In order to install dental implants the right way, doctors use CBCT or traditional CT to do a thorough evaluation of the patient’s mouth and sinus areas. Here, CBCT can again help this be done more quickly and effectively
Genuinely care about your heath
Dr. Kim has been my dentist for the past 4 years. I would highly recommend him to anyone in search of a dentist that is thorough, gentle, works in a timely manner and genuinely care about your heath. He as done work from cavities, periodontal cleaning, root canal re-treatment, and wisdom teeth removal. He has also done my daughters braces and he cares for my whole family. He has excellent credentials and his whole staff is wonderful from front desk to billing to hygienist and assistants. A+ service!
