Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is an advanced 3D radiographic examination, which to some extent has gained ground in general dental practice. Recent developments are: 1) smaller, dynamic image fields (FOVs) and lower radiation dose for achieving the same image quality and, 2) correction for metal artefacts and patient motion in the volume. If image sections without motion artefacts can be obtained, re-takes can be avoided and a general increase in diagnostic accuracy may be the result. SIS (Strålebeskyttelse i Sundhedsstyrelsen) supervises dentists, who work with CBCT, and the authorities need more information on the frequency of CBCT imaging and the size of the FOV and patient dose. The evidence on indications for a CBCT examination is growing annually and Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed may provide guidelines for the use of CBCT.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be used for several dental diagnostic tasks, and with an increase in the spatial resolution in the images, it is predicted that the method will gain further attention in dentistry. MRI is highly superior to radiographic methods in the diagnosis of soft tissues, but also some hard tissues may be visualized with an accuracy on a par with CBCT. Ultrasound imaging (US) is a ”real-time”, pain-free, non-invasive diagnostic method, which uses sound waves instead of ionizing radiation. US plays an important role in the diagnosis of many diseases in the head and neck region, e.g. lymph nodes, salivary glands, muscles, the temporomandibular joint and the tongue.
Recent research shows that intraoral ultrasound examination may have further potential as an adjunct diagnostic method in dentistry with enhanced image quality and dedicated soundheads for areas in the mouth with low accessibility. All three diagnostic methods described in
this article demand special qualifications in order to operate the equipment correctly and interpret the imaging results.
