Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Head and neck, Trauma, Cone beam CT, Conventional radiography, Diagnostic procedure, Technical aspects
Authors:
U. Aydin1, O. Gormez2, D. YILDIRIM2; 1Ankara/TR, 2Isparta/TR
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2016/C-0711
Background
Three-dimensional imaging methods are used in the diagnosis of dentomaxillofacial fractures however,
the use of conventional computed tomography (CT) is limited in dental practice due to high radiation doses,
metal artifacts,
costs,
and accessibility.
CBCT,
on the other hand,
has been improved to offer access to cross-sectional imaging that is faster and easier than conventional CT.
CBCT is based on a divergent cone- or pyramidal-shaped x-ray beam and an imaging sensor that are used to produce three-dimensional digital images.
CBCT units allow different voxel resolutions and field of views,
depending on the model.
The exposure and other technical parameters should be selected accordingly in order to visualize the dentomaxillofacial fractures.
As a volume of data has been acquired and stored by CBCT,
the data can be reformatted,
and several different types of images in oblique or curved image planes can be synthesized,
in addition to the images in the orthogonal planes.
This technique is mostly a tool for imaging of the osseous structures,
and it is not useful for the study of soft tissues.
Therefore,
it should be judiciously used based on the expected diagnostic gain.
The practice of oral and maxillofacial radiologists has become more efficient and successful with CBCT,
and this technique is particularly well suited to image dentomaxillofacial fractures by providing detailed information.
Besides,
conventional radiographs are still used as baseline and for follow-up imaging.