CBCT AND YOU – CONE BEAM COMPUTER TOMOGRAPHY AND PLANNING Leave a comment

How many of you are involved, during your working week with CBCT scanning and panning? It has a real potential to change the way we approach the x-ray information with its 3D imaging and the improved information for diagnosis of, the otherwise buried bone and tooth root. I do believe it will replace the present 2D standard as it offers so much more information and the cost of the CBCT equipment reduces.
As a Technician working with and restoring on implants, the three-dimensional image offers so much more information and is somewhat easier to accurately relate to the patients’ situation. So often the equipment and techniques and training are offered as a direct from surgery option for implant planning but of course that would assume the clinician had some real technical ability, which is most often not the case. The companies who are marketing the equipment are in general unable to understand the difference between a clinician who does implants and a technician who is involved. The idea is that the companies will supply library shots of restorations and the clinician just needs to select his replacement tooth of choice from a picture!!
It really is very exciting technology and is very useful for planning your implant cases accurately in conjunction with the clinician. Using distortion mres (ball bearings) during the scan will give a really accurate potential for measuring. The distortion measure carrier will often need to be made by the laboratory, i.e. a partial or full plate so it is worth your while to pursue the whole area of planning for implant surgery and your part in it. While there have been some practitioners who have shown their own solely planned restorations as an example, the good ones are extremely rare. All The best speakers will be using a technician service and have a close relationship with the technician.
You don’t need to be digitally equipped but it does make transfer of the images very efficient. You can use the x-ray printed images equally easily and make the measurements needed to aid your planning processes. Not being digital you will need to produce models and the wax-p etc. with the normal (analogue) method. It very much depends on the amount of this type of work you already do and how much you wish to grow that aspect. Going digital certainly makes information transfer and scanning, planning and manufacture, much more direct and time saving. If you are looking after just one or two clinicians then the required financial investment, would probably not be justified. I do think you should think about making yourself familiar with the technology and be able to discuss its use, or not, for cases.
Because of the expense of the equipment needed and the expertise required there are several specialist centres around the country who provide the option for general practitioners and to those who feel it too great an investment. While many who are seriously into Implant restoration and general restoration have invested in the technology and find it a real boon it is quite a commitment, so the specialist centres provide an excellent service.