3D CBCT
Dental CBCT X-ray diagnosis in three dimensions
It doesn’t matter to you whether your doctor makes a judgement or diagnosis about your teeth based on two or three dimensional images, does it? If you think it makes no difference, read no further! If you have a specific problem and are still interested in a more meaningful and safer diagnosis, stay tuned!
Frequently asked questions about 3D CBCT
scanning
All questions will be answered by a specialist! No marketing text!
Do I always need a 3D CBCT X-ray?
No! 3D CBCT X-rays are not routine for dental diagnosis or assessment. This imaging modality has a slightly higher radiation dose effect than a conventional 2-dimensional panoramic radiograph. It is therefore only requested by the dentist when additional information is needed for diagnosis or treatment. It is mainly used for tooth implantation, microscopic root canal treatment and in cases where clinical examination or 2D radiographs are not sufficient to assess the retention of a tooth.
Do I need a 3D CBCT X-ray for a dental implant?
YES. In order to plan the surgery, it is essential that the surgeon can examine the bone in 3 dimensions and prepare for its anatomical difficulties. The anatomy of the maxillary sinus in the upper arch and the course of the sensory nerve in the mandible are the most difficult aspects of the operation. It is vital to know exactly how these anatomical formations are laid out. A 2-dimensional scan is not enough.
Do I need a 3D CBCT X-ray for root canal treatment?
Not necessarily in all cases. This is up to the specialist to decide for the tooth in question. Incisors, for example, are less complicated than molars. But even these do not necessarily require a 3D CBCT scan. A 2D radiograph gives some guidance and is often sufficient for successful treatment. In more complicated cases, such as a broken instrument or a branched, tortuous root canal, the doctor often opts for a 3D CBCT, which provides more information. If there is inflammation on the tooth, 2D X-rays are often misleading as to its shape, and 3D scans can also provide useful information.
Do you need a 3D CBCT scan for a node search?
Once again, geoscience is a special subject. Even here the doctor does not necessarily start with a 3D CBCT scan. First a panoramic X-ray is taken. If there are teeth that have been root canal treated in the past, they are all considered potential foci. The 2D x-ray gives a rough idea of whether or not a single root canal tooth has healed. But this is often deceptive because the inflammation can extend into the 3rd dimension, i.e. the depth, which the 2D X-ray often does not show. So in the case of root canal treated teeth with underlying nodular disease, it may be necessary to take 3D CBCT radiographs to be sure.
We often perform root canal treatment with an operating microscope and in about 50-70% of cases we ask for 3D CBCT images. Accurate diagnosis and root canal work at high magnification leads to more successful treatments and can also lead to more successful solutions to problems that cannot be solved by general dental treatment.
In cases where 3D CBCT is requested by the dentist or the root canal is done with a microscope, microscopic root canal treatment combined with 3D CBCT is not a 100% guarantee of saving the tooth, but it can give a tooth a much better chance of success than traditional techniques.
State-of-the-art 3D CBCT X-ray machines are now accelerated (shorter exposure time), minimal exposure, environmentally friendly devices. This means excellent image quality with minimal radiation dose. ADC dose compensation optimises the irradiance for both 2 and 3D images. Radiation dose is present, but minimally more than in a conventional panoramic X-ray.
To give you an idea, travelling to New York by airplane is about six times the radiation dose of taking an X-ray.
It’s a simple imaging procedure, there’s no pain involved, you don’t even have to open your mouth. The patient positions themselves in the machine, and after the adjustments are made, the machine rotates around the head in about 30 seconds. That’s it.
The recording takes about 30 seconds. The 3D CBCT is a huge amount of information, so processing the resulting data takes a few minutes. The evaluation of the image takes the most time. The recording can be burned onto a CD and taken away.
3D CBCT X-ray - investing in a more accurate diagnosis
No need for routine
Mandatory for dental implants!
Recommended for root canal treatment
Microscopic root canal treatment is a special branch of dentistry that attempts to save teeth with more complex anatomy. However, this requires the doctor to have a precise knowledge of the root canal structure. The exploration of curved or branched canals, the removal of intruded instruments all require 3D CBCT imaging.
You are not a flat piece of paper! Your tooth also occupies 3 dimensions in the bone. Why are you satisfied with a 2-dimensional examination?
Three dimensions
For dental implants
Root treatment
3D CBCT X-ray in root canal treatment
3-dimensional CBCT radiography is an excellent option for dentists and their patients. It is an indispensable tool for both diagnosis and treatment planning in modern dentistry. Traditional X-rays show the tooth in 2 dimensions. The lack of a 3rd dimension leads to many misdiagnoses or unsuccessful treatments, resulting in shorter tooth life or unnecessary tooth treatment. With 3-dimensional imaging, we can eliminate a lot of potential for error
