Dental cone beam computed tomography: justification for use in planning oral implant placement

Intra-oral and panoramic radiographs are most frequently used in oral health care. Yet, the inherent nature of jaws and teeth renders three-dimensional diagnosis essential, especially in relation to oral surgery. Nowadays, this can be accomplished by dental cone beam computed tomography, which provides high-quality images at low radiation doses and low costs. Nonetheless, the effective dose ranges of cone beam computed tomography machines may easily vary from 10 to 1000 μSv, this being equivalent to two to 200 panoramic radiographs, even for similar presurgical indications. Moreover, the diagnostic image quality varies massively among available machines and parameter settings. Apart from the radiodiagnostic possibilities, dental cone beam computed tomography may offer a vast therapeutic potential, including opportunities for surgical guidance and further prosthetic rehabilitation via computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing solutions. These additional options may definitely explain part of the success of cone beam computed tomography for oral implant placement. In conclusion, dental cone beam computed tomography imaging could be justified for oral implant-related diagnosis, planning and transfer to surgical and further prosthetic treatment, but guidelines for justification and cone beam computed tomography optimization remain mandatory.