What is a CT Scan in dentistry?
CT stands for Computerized Tomography. It has several names that mean the same thing. It is also called a CAT, iCat, iVision, Cone beam, and Cone beam CT.
A CAT scan is done using Computerized Axial Tomography. That means an arm swings around your head shooting x ray beams shaped in a cone. This is how it also came to be called “cone beam CT”. The name iVision is actually a particular very powerful software that processes the images, it isn’t the scan itself.
What is a CT Scan?
It is a way to get 3D views of the teeth, roots, airways, sinuses, and the temporomandibular regions without distortion. Normal x rays don’t get the soft tissues like nerves and they aren’t 3D.
What is a CT Scan to the Dentist?
It is a powerful diagnostic tool to map treatment plans with greater accuracy and surgical precision. Dentists can look at your teeth in a panoramic view. They can also isolate sections or layers of interest in your mouth. They get the entire picture of relationships between all soft tissues and hard bones, fillings, and implants.
What is a CT Scan to the Patient?
It is a very fast procedure, over in seconds with nothing uncomfortable put in the mouth. It has lower radiation than x rays given at a doctor’s office. The pictures are very clear and retakes are very, very rare.
For Northwest Radiography patients it also means that you are seen within days and your images are delivered to your dentist quickly. Your or your loved one’s time in pain will be shortened.
