How CBCT Benefits Your Dental Practice

Figure 1 | Does cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) have a place in the standard dental practice? The answer is easy—absolutely yes. With the constant barrage of new and innovative materials and technologies, it becomes difficult to tell the difference between deep and meaningful changes from the shallow and superficial novelties.

An oral surgeon introduced me to CBCT over 10 years ago as I contemplated the successful treatment plan of my own dental implant process. At the time, I considered this new technology as only beneficial to specialists or certain types of practices, but not for general practitioners.

As a general practitioner who historically referred out all surgical extractions, endodontic treatments, and implant placement, I had not considered the advantage of CBCT or three-dimensional (3D) imaging in my office. But after 15 years of providing high-quality restorative dentistry I wanted to change things up and introduce restorative-driven implant placement to my patients as an alternative to the traditional surgical-driven process. This decision forever changed my dental practice.

CBCT captures volumes or slices of information that are then assembled by software into a 3D view of the scanned area. This allows viewing of the scanned area from multiple angles: frontal, coronal, axial, and transaxial. The oral structures that we work with are 3D, so it is only logical that we view them in the third dimension. This concept has revolutionized the way I gather and view diagnostic information. The difference between a 2D periapical radiograph and a scan from a CBCT is that CBCT allows me to visualize all of the dentition and supporting hard tissues from any given angle.

You can’t see what you can’t see—and if you can’t see it you can’t diagnosis it. If you can’t diagnosis it you can’t treat it. Now, with a single radiographic scan, I can see diagnostically the failure, the pain, and the symptoms being described clinically by my patients.

Sirona’s GALILEOS 3D imaging system combines x-ray diagnostics, implant visualization, treatment planning, and patient communication in one tool. With the integration of CEREC® CAD/CAM, GALILEOS further enhances implant planning through the visualization of the final prosthesis by CEREC. This clinical efficiency improves treatment acceptance and increases productivity in my practice.

My ability to provide diagnostic treatment for implants, RCT, TMJ, occlusion, orthodontics, airway, and overall optimal general health to my patients from a single technological device is truly disruptive and revolutionary. After over 18 years in private practice, this is the one piece of dental equipment that I could not and would not practice without.

For more information, contact:
Sirona Imaging
718-482-2011
www.sirona.com