The future of digital technology with implant dentistry will build on the founding work of Hounsfield and Cormack, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine in 1979. This work is now able to be integrated with visual and other diagnostic technologies to create current and future clinical excellence.
One of this month’s Implants Today topics is how cone beam computerized technology (CBCT) is integral to treatment planning. Implants Today editorial advisory board member Dr. Natalie Wong has submitted a comprehensive article that addresses the many uses of CBCT in regard to treatment planning. Dr. Wong further shows how digital facial photographic capture can be tied into implant treatment. This is a view toward the future of digital treatment planning progress.
The multitude of relevant uses of CBCT in a dental practice can’t be overstated. Current CBCT is proven to be a safe and reliable diagnostic tool that is a mandatory inclusion for ideal treatment planning and treatment. As a courtesy to our readers, for further research into available equipment and technologies, a listing (not intended to be all inclusive) of CBCT companies (including present and past advertisers with Dentistry Today) is provided (table).
Treatment planning starts with an assessment of the medical health of our patients. I advocate having a radiology report performed on every CBCT scan. The report from a radiologist can uncover many conditions relative to a patient’s medical history and present condition(s). This is an example of utilizing the expertise of other trained professionals as part of the team approach to treatment planning.
Also, in this issue’s Implants Today section, Dr. Paresh B. Patel shares a case report illustrating how to utilize ridge splitting and expansion to facilitate single-stage surgery for patients who present with a deficient residual ridge. The successful diagnosis and treatment planning of this case also relied on CBCT analysis.
The future of digital technology with implant dentistry will build on the founding work of Hounsfield and Cormack, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine in 1979. This work is now able to be integrated with visual and other diagnostic technologies to create current and future clinical excellence.
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