Cone Beam CT

In the early 1900s, the Italian radiologist Alessandro Vallebona proposed a method to represent a single slice of the body on the radiographic film. This method was known as tomography.The first commercially viable CT scanner was invented by Sir Godfrey Hounsfield in Hayes, United Kingdom at EMI Central Research Laboratories using X-rays.Since its introduction in the 1970s, CT has become an important tool in medical imaging to supplement X-rays and medical ultrasonography. Although it is still quite expensive, it is the gold standard in the diagnosis of a large number of different disease entities.

There is a growing interest in minimally invasive implant therapy as a standard prosthodontic treatment, providing complete restoration of occlusal function. A new treatment method (CADDIMA), which combines both computerized tomographic (CT) and optical laser-scan data for planning and design of surgical guides, implant abutments, and prosthetic device is trhe latest.Cone beam CT technology has wide ranging applications particularly in dental implant therapy. Our CT scanner provides us with three dimensional images of a patient’s jaws and allows for pre-surgical virtual surgery resulting in precise implant placement. This allows us to dramatically shorten surgical time thereby reducing post-operative pain and swelling. In addition, teeth may be placed on the implants on the same day of surgery based on pre-operative computer planning.

In addition to its uses in implant therapy, CT scanner is useful in planning jaw reconstructive surgery, trauma surgery, TMJ diagnosis and surgery, as well as complex pathology cases. Radiation exposure from cone-beam CT scanners is significantly less than from hospital grade CT scanners, in fact, the amount of radiation exposure is often less than from a full-mouth dental series.