What Is a Cone-Beam CT Scan?
A cone-beam CT (CBCT) scanner rotates once around your head and reconstructs a three-dimensional model of your teeth, jawbone, nerves and sinuses. A traditional X-ray gives us a flat picture; a CBCT lets us look at the same anatomy from any angle, measure bone in millimeters and see structures that simply do not appear on a two-dimensional image. The scan takes well under a minute, you stay seated or standing, and nothing enters your mouth.
How We Use It
- Dental implants: We measure the height, width and density of available bone and plan the implant clear of nerves and sinuses before any treatment begins.
- Root canals: Extra or curved canals that hide behind overlapping roots on a flat X-ray are visible in 3D, which is often the difference between a tooth that settles and one that keeps hurting.
- Wisdom teeth and extractions: We can see exactly where each root sits relative to the nerve that supplies sensation to your lip and jaw, so removal is planned rather than improvised.
- Bone grafting and sinus lifts: The scan shows how much bone is present and how much needs to be rebuilt.
- Diagnosis: Cysts, infections, fractures and pathology are far easier to identify and measure in three dimensions.
Is It Safe?
Modern dental CBCT is a low-dose technology. We take a scan only when the information will change how we diagnose or treat you, and we use the smallest field of view that answers the clinical question. Your dose is a small fraction of a medical CT of the head, and we are happy to discuss the specifics with you before your scan.
What It Means for You
Better information up front means fewer surprises during treatment, fewer referrals out of the office, and a plan we can actually show you on screen. We routinely review scans with patients — seeing your own anatomy makes the recommended treatment far easier to understand.
If you have questions about a scan we have recommended, ask us at your next visit and we will walk you through it.