The Importance of 3D CT-Scan
for Dental Implant Surgery
What is the importance of 3D CT-Scan for Dental Implant
Surgery? 3D CT-Scan Dental Imaging in Thantakit Dental
Center was one of the pioneers in Southeast Asia and
even Asia. It’s one of the first in the region to have its own
cone beam CT scanner for use in dental implant surgery.
This technology has a wide range of applications, but it’s
mostly and particularly used in assisting the dental implant
procedure in tandem with 3D Computer-Aided Design
(CAD) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM).
At any rate, Thantakit dentists ensure patients that the
implant they’re getting is precisely placed in a safe
manner. There are fewer adjustments needed in terms of
crown height or issues in gum pain due to ill-fitting, loose,
or crooked implants.
What Is a Dental Implant and Its Link to The 3D CT Scan?
A dental implant is a dental device made of foreign,
alloplastic material that’s embedded unto the jawbone
beneath the mucosal layer or beyond the gums. This is
done in order to better support a removable or fixed dental
prosthesis, giving it a more natural feel like a real healthy
tooth implanted unto the tooth socket.
Here are other things to know:
Rising Popularity: Dental implants are becoming
immensely popular nowadays because of their ability to
replace the permanent teeth you’ve lost.
Permanent Restorations: Dental implants provide more
permanent restorations that don’t interfere with the
function of your mouth or speech as well as compromise
your self-esteem.
Imaging Techniques: Pre-surgical imaging techniques like
digital scans, 3D scans, and surgical templates, all help
the dentist in placing the implants precisely without
endangering you or the healthiness of your mouth.
Standard to Complex: The imaging modalities at the
disposal of the dentist vary from standard projections
found in a typical dental clinic to complex radiographic
technique you can only get in dental labs or radiology
centers.
FOR APRIL 16, 2023-04-06
MEDICAL INSIDER
DR. RHODA ENTERO
What Is Implant Imaging and How Important Is
It to Dental Implant Surgery?
Implant imaging is a type of treatment planning
that ensures the quickness, precision, and
success of the implant procedure, even to the
point of making it a same-day procedure you
can undergo in one sitting.
Dental implant imaging using 3D CT-scans and
treatment planning are called for before
replacing your lost teeth with an implant
because it plays an important role in making
sure the results are satisfactory.
Let us familiarize ourselves with some terms
related to this topic:
A Safer and Much More Successful
Procedure: Dental implant procedures
practically require 3D imaging for their
treatment planning to work nowadays since
it makes things much safer and quicker.
Accurate Diagnostic Info: Dentists depend
on implant imaging because it offers
dependable and accurate diagnostic info of
the patient’s oral anatomy, particularly on
the proposed implant site where the
procedure is supposed to take place.
Standard Projection Examples: Standard
projections for dental implant imaging
purposes include intra-oral (i.e., occlusal or
periapical) and extra-oral (lateral
cephalometric or panoramic) radiographs.
You can also avail of dosimetry and
magnetic resonance imaging.
Complex Imaging Techniques: The more
complex imaging techniques include cone
beam tomography (CBCT), computed
tomography (CT), and conventional dental
x-rays. The info taken from these scans can
then help in the 3D recreation of the whole
mouth and jaws for CAM/CAD therapy.
Which Technique Should Be Used?
There are multiple factors that influence the
selection of radiography imaging modalities for
a particular patient, including the anatomy of
the patient in question, radiation exposure,
availability, and cost.
The dentist has to balance out these factors to
give the patient the best option for him with the
fewest issues.
What Makes The 3D CBCT Scanner Special?
The 3D CT or CBCT scanner of clinics like
Thantakit provides its dentists with three-
dimensional images of the patient’s teeth and
overall jaw structure, thus enabling virtual
surgery and pre-surgical treatment planning.
FOR APRIL 23, 2023
MEDICAL INSIDER
DR. RHODA ENTERO
What Are 3D CT Scans and CBCT Scanners?
A 3D computer topography or CT scan is a scan that
precisely recreates in 3D digital format the insides of the
mouth including what’s present underneath the gums in
order to get a closer look of the overall teeth structure of
the patient. The small-sized machine scanners used for
the process are called Cone Beam CBCT, and they’re the
miniaturized versions of your typical CT or CAT scanners
that are usually available at hospitals and other major
diagnostic scanning labs.
Here are more pieces of information about CT Scanners:
When Were CT Scanners Invented?
CAD/CAM dentistry came about back in 1985, so it’s
only natural that digital scanners came along with the
tech. However, the CBCT scanner was invented by
Sir Godfrey N. Hounsefield in 1967, developed for
angiography in 1982, and used for dental scanning
soon after in the late 1980s to early 1990s. The
technology has been around since the 1960s but the
tech eventually gained dental applications in the
1980s to the present, leading to its development for
dentistry in particular in tandem with the rise of
CAD/CAM dentistry’s popularity.
Who Makes Use of CT Scanners?
Dentists who are worth their salt (such as the
internationally trained dentists of the Thantakit Clinic)
will utilize state-of-the-art CBCT scanners for the sake
of safe and quick dental implant surgery. They also
use it for endodontic treatment, orthodontics, TMJ
treatment, sleep apnea studies, cancer screening,
angiograms and scanning wisdom teeth prior to
extracting them. As you can see, the miniaturized
CBCT scanner has loads of applications in and out of
the dental industry.
How Do CT Scanners Work?
The dentist can position the CBCT scanner in a
multitude of ways in order to get the best 3D CT-
scans, possible, whether the patient is standing or
sitting down, leading to better scanning flexibility. As
the scan begins, the arm or the part that contains the
x-rays slowly rotates around the head like in a big CT
scan machine, but this time miniaturized for dentist
use. The arm then moves around to capture images
used to reconstruct in 3D your whole head from the
inside out.
Where Can You Avail of CT Scanners?
You’ll usually see these CBCT scanners for 3D CT
scans available at health facilities such as the
hospital, dental clinics, and dental labs or in those in
the possession of most dentists in the 21st Century
for the sake of scanning the tooth socket and jaw
structure for precision dental implantation that’s aided
by CAD/CAM dentistry. At present, the most
advanced dental clinics and labs should have CBCT
scanners as an option although some clinics still use
old-fashioned dental x-rays and whatnot.
What Are The Precautions Needed Before Taking the
3D CT Scan?
Before the 3D CT-scan begins, you will be asked to
remove accessories such as eyeglasses, piercings,
necklaces, earrings, and other jewelry for safety’s
sake. The readings will become inaccurate if you
were to leave such items on your person. Your
dentures will also have to be taken off prior to
scanning. The scan will also be made as accurate as
possible thanks to a special pre-fabricated guide.
Why Do You Need 3D Dental CT Scans?
Simply put, 3D CT scans makes things simpler for the
dentist and dental surgeon when putting in your new
implant. It translates immediately to CAD files on your
computer, which also makes designing new dentures
or manufacturing the right size of implants for
accurate mouth and teeth socket placement even
more straightforward. Furthermore, the scanner
captures multiple scans. It also tells the dentist
whether you need a bone graft as well as whether
you’re a good candidate for an implant in the first
place.
In our next issue, we will discuss the goals of 3D dental
implant scanning.
For april 30, 2023
The goals of 3D dental implant scanning include the
following:
Assess bone quality
Establish jaw boundaries
Detect any underlying pathology
Determine the long axis of alveolar bone
Measure bone height and width (bone dimensions)
Identify and localize internal anatomy and conditions
Decide the width and length of the implant to be placed
Decide if implant treatment is appropriate for the patient
Ascertain angulation of alveolar process and buccolingual
width
Learn the location of vital anatomical structures like the
maxillary sinus and inferior alveolar nerve
CT Scanners Are Much Faster to Use and Have Lower
Radiation
A dental x-ray captures the insides of your mouth like a
normal x-ray but miniaturized to specifically target the
areas that the dentist will work on. Meanwhile, a 3D dental
CT-scan doubles as an x-ray but uses CT tech in order to
accurately showcase what’s in your mouth with a rotating
arm that captures multiple images of your head from
different angles. The images are used to reconstruct in 3D
of your internal anatomy with amazing accuracy.
Essentially, CT scans with the CBCT scanner are safer,
faster, and uses lower radiation when compared to dental
x-rays. In essence, it features the following advantages.
Works Faster: The scanning duration of the CBCT
scanner is a quick 14 seconds. It’s much quicker than its
much larger standard CT scan machine counterpart that
takes a few minutes to do, but in fairness that usually
involves a whole body scan or scanning larger parts of the
body aside from the head anyway. An x-ray is about as
fast too but requires a lot of prep time.
Lower Radiation: There’s significantly less x-ray radiation
involved when using the CBCT scanner compared to the
dental x-ray or even a normal-sized CT scanner that’s
huge enough for an average-sized person to go through.
You won’t have to worry about getting too irradiated with
this procedure. This is why relatively speaking a CBCT
scanner is safer than a CT scanner. It’s less than what
you’d get from a full-mouth dental x-ray.
More Information Made Available: The dentist will know in
advance whether there’s a need for bone grafting and gum
grafting in light of the extra information provided by the 3D
scan that also assists in creating the perfect implant
paraphernalia like the implant stud itself, crown, and
abutment to be placed on the correct location in your
mouth.
Starting Phase: The importance of the CBCT scanner
when it comes to making 3D CT-scans of the head and
mouth of the patient is of the utmost importance in the
starting phases of the dental implant process because of
various factors that include the following items.
The CBCT scanner helps the dentist decide whether or
not a bone-grafting procedure is called for.
The CBCT scanner is there to visualize the anatomic
structures that can’t be detected visually or externally.
The CBCT scanner simulates the implant surgery on the
computer before the actual procedure can take place
using the 3D scans.
The CBCT scanner helps avoid implants from touching
critical oral structures such as the nose, the sinus,
previous implants, teeth roots, and nerves.
The scanned data from the CBCT scanner can be sent
electronically to the laboratory or in-clinic computer where
fabrication of the surgical guide can take place.
In Summary
The 3D CT-scan or CT scan is a type of technology that
dramatically shortens surgery time, which in turn reduces
post-operative pain and swelling. Everything is now done
in a streamlined manner because the dentist isn’t left
pawing at the dark in regards to where to properly place
the implant or what lies underneath the gums and empty
tooth socket where there used to be a tooth.
There are even cases wherein the teeth might be placed
on the implants on the same day as the surgery date
because of the help of the digital 3D scans that translate
immediately to CAD/CAM dentistry. More to the point, the
3D scan is easily read by the digital dentist lab, so making
a new crown that perfectly fits is a snap and is
microscopically accurate based on the laser-precise data
provided by the 3D CT-scan, thus resulting in effective
pre-operative computer planning. That’s the power of 3D
CT dental imaging in a nutshell.