Radiation from Cone Beam CT

Question

I am wondering if anybody knows what amount of radiation is given off by a Cone Beam CT during dental procedures. If I am standing six feet away with no barrier, would this be a problem? What about the patient? What kind of radiation risks are they subject to? Thanks.

Answer 1

From our understanding, a cone beam CT's radiation is equivalent to a full mouth series of x-rays. That is done once a year in most offices. The cone beam CT is 20% of the radiation of a hospital based fan beam CT machine.

You can read more at this page about  Exposure to Cone Beam CT

You can also read an Cone Beam CT Interview here.

 

 

Answer 2

If I may make a correction about the different radiographic surveys in the dental office.

I am a strong advocate of obtaining  a CBCT scan for selected implant patients due to the definite advantages for treatment planning and even guided surgery, but here are some facts:

Radiation exposure in CBCT scans will be different from one machine to another.

The mean effective dose in an average scan of both arches is about 92.8 uSv.

This can change if you reduce or increase the FOV (field of view), and tipically the machines with the small field of view have the smallest exposures.

Dosage can also increase with the resolution of the scan.  The average scan has a voxel size of .4 mm and it can be reduced to .2 mm for a higher resolution scan which also doubles the dose.

One minor correction to a statement in a previous post by Dr Tischler that a full series of x-rays " is done once a year in most offices" is incorrect.  Intraoral pictures such as bitewings and some periapicals are taken as needed every year in a dental office to detect pathology and caries, but a full series of x-rays in not taken every year, nor is it recommended.

Dr. Carlos Boudet
West Palm Beach , FL
(561) 968 6022
boudetdds.com