For the past decade, some dental offices have changed their view of radiography, literally. Cone Beam Computerized Tomography (CBCT) scanners presented the opportunity to obtain a 3-dimensional view of the mouth, that improved diagnosis, facilitated treatment planning and enhanced opportunities for patient education. Before in-office CBCTs became available, many patients who needed 3-D scans were referred out to hospital or imaging centers to obtain medical CTs. This was not only inconvenient and time consuming, but also exposed dental patients to more radiation than was necessary for dental treatment. Recently, articles have appeared cautioning the public about the increased health risks from medical CT scans. While it is worthwhile to take precautions to avoid exposure to unnecessary radiation, it is also important to avoid confusing radiation exposure statistics of medical CTs with those of dental CBCT scans.
There have been many misconceptions about the radiation dosages of medical CT compared to CBCT scans, and about exposure of the differing CBCT machines available to dentists today.
