Diagnosing failling root canals with CBCT radiographs?

CBCT stands for Cone Beam Computed Tomography and is a 3-D X-ray that is being used for Diagnosis and Treatment Planning in dentistry. It provides a 3 dimensional image of the jaw and teeth that can be divided into a series of separate sagital of horizontal cuts to help dentists visualize what is actually going on in a jaw even individual teeth.

More and more, endodontists are purchasing these machines and using them to help understand what has caused endodontics to fail and whether it'w worth a patients time and money to try and save these teeth. CBCT images can sometimes show fractures, boney defects and missed canals as well as other anatomical features of teeth and the surrounding bone.

Usually the machines that endodontists use do not need to take images of the entire jaw, but can be limited to the area around the tooth in question. The fee's for this scan ( at least my endodontists) are around $200-$300 per study and seem well worth the money. They are not routinely used for initial treatment of a root canal, but when there is a problem they can be invaluable for diagnosis and treatment planning.

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2018/01/diagnosing-failling-root-canals-with.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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