Our new Green 16 CBCT machine at Smile in Style Sunbury
What is a cone beam machine CT machine?
Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is used in dental practices to capture a 3D image of a patient’s head and neck. We can then either look through the slices of images or rotate the 3D model on a computer screen to analyse the anatomy. This assists us to more accurately diagnose and treatment plan for our patients.
What do we use it for?
With the 3D data we can:
- Plan positioning of dental implants.
With the 3D imaging, we are able to carefully plan the placement of implants. We can position implants in the jaws with care so that the surrounding teeth are not damaged. We can place implants in the correct position so that we can avoid damage to nerves and sinuses. The 3D image will also show us if there is enough bone to support the implant. We ensure that the implant is positioned so that the connected structure is well supported. This might be a crown, a bridge, a bar or a denture with attachments. Then we superimpose scans or models of the patient on the cone beam image to design a surgical guide. These guides are used to place on the teeth and transfer the planned implant positioning from the computer, directly to the mouth during surgery. The surgical guide allows for greater accuracy when placing the implant in the patients jaw.
Implants and any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. We will discuss the risks of the procedure during your consultation as well as examine your health to ensure you are a suitable candidate for implants. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
- Assess patient airways.
A patient’s airways are integral to how they breath and swallow. This in turn has an effect on posture, mental development (IQ), malocclusion development and sleep apnoea or snoring issues. Sleep apnoea can be debilitating. It can cause accidents, such as falling asleep while driving and may significantly increase the risks of heart attack, stroke, cancer, and premature death.
So our cone beam machine can be a very useful tool to assess our patient’s airways. We can also use orthodontics to plan treatment for developing children and adults that suffer with snoring and/or sleep apnoea.
- Orthodontic planning.
Our Green 16 cone beam CT unit also comes with the ability to take 2D panoramic and cephalometric radiographs for standard orthodontic planning. These images are of a high quality and are extremely accurate. The 3D imaging is also useful to locate impacted teeth so that we may then use orthodontics to bring the impacted teeth to the surface and align them with the rest of the teeth.
- Root canal treatment, bone infections, pathology.
The 3D imagery is an invaluable tool to diagnose and to locate problems in the mouth. Whether it is locating a root canal in a tooth, or to gauge the location and size of an abscess in the bone, gum or tooth; it is an amazing tool that we can use to plan our treatment more accurately. As the images are of such a high quality, we can also use the images to explain to our patients why we have chosen a particular treatment plan for them.
What is special about the Vatech Green 16 CBCT machine?
We chose the Vatech Green 16 CBCT unit from a range of machines on the market as we were very impressed with the:
- low radiation exposure to the patient
- clear and accurate images
- the large 3D volume of image the machine was capable of producing to enable better diagnosis
- powerful software that has the ability to communicate with other dental programs we use to allow better treatment planning
- user friendly
In keeping with Smile In Style’s business philosophy of using the latest techniques and technologies in dentistry, our Vatech Green 16 CBCT machine is the first unit installed in Victoria and the 7th unit installed in Australia. So please book in for a consolation with Smile In Style so that we can begin to help you with your dental problems.
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