Introduction to Cone Beam Computed Tomography for the dental practitioner

Cone Beam Computed Tomography (Cone beam CT) is a rapidly expanding technology with an ever-increasing number of applications. Its many advantages have resulted in the rapid adoption by the dental profession worldwide. Every day, new innovations are reported in the literature as investigations in different dental specialties discover applications of the technology. As part of this evolutionary process, manufacturers are planning new models with a variety of innovative features. At the present time a number of new manufacturers are planning to introduce Cone Beam CT machines in the very near future while current manufacturers continue to compete among themselves in the development of newer models. This dynamic process will certainly be of great benefit to the dentist who is the consumer of these devices but, more importantly, it is the patient who will ultimately benefit by this worldwide improvement in the standard of care in the various fields of dentistry. (CU Dent J. 2005;28:179-88) Key words: Cone Beam Computed Tomography; Cone Beam CT systems; dentistry