Cone-beam Computed Tomography
A way to assess your upper airway done by a dentist!
What is a CBCT Scan?
A CBCT scan or cone-beam computed tomography scan is extremely beneficial to our Pax dentist in obtaining a better overall view of your entire mouth, jaw, nasal cavity, and throat areas. A CBCT creates 3D images that show bone, airway, and soft tissue in these areas, as well as any dental work you may have.
CBCT scans use radiation, but they use much less than the CT scans you are used to. While the use radiation is still very safe for you.
What Happens During a CBCT Scan?
Wondering what happened during a CBCT scan? During a CBCT scan, you will stand and be able to hold on to a bar while the imaging machine slowly rotates around your entire head. You need to be completely still during the scan but don't worry, it only last less than a minute. Our CBCT scan is quick and entirely painless.
Amazingly, during the few seconds of scanning, over 150 images are taken and then put together to make a single 3D picture for our dentist or myofunctional therapist to view.
Does Everyone Need a CBCT Scan?
Pax dentist may recommend that you get a CBCT scan for a few reasons. First, it can be used as part of the planning step for your dental treatment. By having a CBCT scan, our dentist will be able to have much-needed detailed information about your oral care. This information can include images of:
Bone loss
Tooth decay
Nerves
Soft tissue
Facial fractures or abnormal growths
Infections
Tooth root issues
Signs of TMJ or other problems with the jaw
Other irregularities
Airway Assessment
These are obviously all things you would want your dentist to be aware of when performing any kind of treatment.
When we do a dental implant, a CBCT would provide the dentist with as much knowledge as possible. This way, potential problems could be addressed beforehand or avoided altogether. A dental implant may even be determined as unsafe and not performed at all due to the information that was safely gathered through a CBCT scan.
So why does volume assessment or airway have to do with my dentist? This scan can provide information for further testing such as a sleep study. Even providing a sleep appliance, can be better customized for each patient from added precision supplied from a CBCT scan.
Does Pax Dental have CBCT Technology?
Absolutely! We will always invest in the best for our patients. We have available these scans not only for our dental treatments and plan but for our sleep + health department. This includes airway health and myofunctional therapy. We can't wait to tell you more about this amazing opportunity. Stay tuned for our blogs on Sleep + Health.
Ready, Set, Schedule.
Really, we can't wait to meet you! Not sure what you need? Come in for a check-up or for a teeth cleaning. We can take it from there and evaluate what might be the next step in your dental care. You can schedule by phone (301-863-8822) or by our online portal www.paxdental.com/schedule. See you soon. Our dentist and myofunctional therapist are on standby waiting for your call....