What it is
Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a 3D X-ray made for dentistry. While you stand or sit still, the machine turns once around your head in under a minute and builds a 3D image of the area we need to see.
Your dentist can then look at the jaw from any angle: how much bone there is for an implant, exactly where a nerve runs next to a wisdom tooth, or whether a tooth has an extra canal that a flat X-ray hides.
A flat X-ray shows a shadow. A 3D scan shows where the nerve actually runs.
What the scan is like
- We explain why. You only have a CBCT scan when it answers a question that a regular X-ray can’t — we tell you what that question is.
- You stand still for under a minute. Your chin rests on a support while the arm turns once around your head. It’s open — not a tunnel — and makes only a soft hum.
- We look at it together. The 3D image appears within minutes. We show you the bone, the roots and the plan on the screen.
What it changes — and what it doesn’t
What you gain
- Implants placed where there is enough bone, away from nerves and the sinus
- Wisdom teeth removed with a clear view of the nerve beside them
- Hidden canals and cracks found before a root canal, not during it
- A plan you can see, with fewer surprises
Its limits
- It uses more radiation than a regular dental X-ray, so it is never routine
- Metal crowns and fillings can cause streaks in the image
- It shows bone and teeth well, soft tissues less so
How much radiation
We use the smallest scan area that answers the question. A small-area dental CBCT scan is typically comparable to a few days to a few weeks of the natural background radiation everyone receives, and far less than a medical CT scan of the head. Larger scans of both jaws are higher, which is one reason we don’t use them by default.
The American Dental Association’s 2024 recommendations say CBCT should be used only when lower-dose imaging can’t give the information needed — that is how we use it.
