APPLICATION OF CONE BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (CBCT) IN DENTAL PRACTICE: A REVIEW

Recent decades have seen the development of imaging modalities like Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine and ultrasonography that have revolutionized dental and medical diagnosis. Static projection images were relied upon for diagnoses in the maxillofacial region, but we are now moving toward digital, 3-dimensional and interactive imaging applications. Much of this movement is attributed to a recently introduced CT technology known as cone-beam computed tomography. It is considered by many as “what was missing” in the field. The original CT technology which is used extensively in medical diagnosis is designated as medical CT, and the newer modality used primarily in dentistry is Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) also termed as Cone-Beam Volumetric Tomography (CBVT), Dental Volumetric Tomography, Cone-Beam Volumetric Imaging (CBVI), or Dental Computed Tomography.