Clinical Applications of Cone beam Computed Tomography in Dentistry

Tohoku University

Abstract

Dental cone beam computed tomography（CBCT）systems have been designed for imaging hard tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region．This technique provides relatively high spatial resolution and 3-dimensional information concerning of fosseous structures，compared to conventional images．Recently，CBCT is being increasingly used for oral and maxillofacial imaging．However，most dental practitioners are familiar with 2-dimensional images produced by dental X-ray apparatus，panoramic tomography et al．Therefore，there are many dentists hesitating about its use．This article，provides an overview of maxillofacial CBCT systems and reviews the specific application of various CBCT display modes to clinical dental practice.