CBCT - do you always need it?

Andrew Shelley discusses the role of CBCT in implant dentistry, and provides an insight into his session for the ADI.

Andrew Shelley is a specialist in prosthodontics, a fellow of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of Edinburgh and of England and an honorary research fellow of the University of Manchester. Andrew has a special interest in imaging prior to dental implant placement and is the author of several published papers on this topic. He is also a co-author of the FGDP(UK)’s selection criteria for dental radiography and so is ideally positioned to discuss the role of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in implant dentistry. Andrew has presented a session for the ADI, which has been made available to ADI members in the form of a webinar.

His session, entitled “CBCT, do you always need it?”, explores the evidence for the efficacy of CBCT imaging prior to dental implant placement. He comments, “We should start from a position that there are reasons to prescribe CBCT imaging but also reasons not to prescribe it because there is a cancer risk from exposure to ionising radiation. Therefore, we need evidence to assess the impact of having CBCT information available, especially at higher levels of efficacy such as patient outcome. We are then armed with the information we need to make a judgement on the balance of risks and benefits. I explain these levels of efficacy in my webinar.