Anuraag B. Choudhary
Imaging is an important diagnostic adjunct to the clinical assessment of the dental patient. Thecurrently used imaging modalities include intra-oralradiographs, panoramic radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography(CT) including cone-beam (CB) CT, ultrasonography(US), and nuclear medicine including positron emission tomography (PET).The introduction of panoramic radiography in the1960's and its widespread adoption throughout the1970's and 80's heralded major progress in dental radiology - providing physicians with a single comprehensive image of both jaws and maxillofacial structures. However, both intraoral and extraoral procedures, used individually or in combination, suffer from the same inherent limitations of all plan two dimensional (2D) projections - magnification, distortion, superimposition and misrepresentation of structures. The cone-beam technique (CBCT or DVT) is the most recent advance in computer-assisted tomography. Initial studies using phantomshave confirmed a geometric accuracy of upto tenths of millimeters. Advanced cross-sectional imaging techniques are used in dento-maxillofacial imaging to solve complex diagnostic and treatment-planning problems, such as those encountered in craniofacial fractures, endosseous dental-implant planning, and orthodontics, among others. With the advent of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) technology, cross-sectional imaging that had previously been outsourced to medical CT scanners has begun to take place in dental offices.