Dental CT: A New Diagnostic Tool in Dental Radiology Based on Double Spiral CT

Abstract

In the beginning of 1990, dental computed tomography (CT) software program was developed which offers the possibility of reconstructing panoramic and transaxial images of the maxilla and the mandible from CT data files [1, 5, 6] for analyzing dento-skeletal relationships in mulitplanar anatomical overviews. Up to 7 successive panoramic images running parallel to the jaw and various reformattings of varying distance and length arranged perpendicular to the centric panoramic line provide new possibilities of gaining insights into the morphology of the maxillo-mandibular system. Until now, this software was primarily utilized for diagnosis and planning of dental implantations [1]. initial clinical experience has, however, shown that the narrowly restricted range of indications involved in implantology can be extended to include other fields of dentistry [4], whereby a large scan volume is required. The spiral CT scanning technique [2, 3,7, 8], and especially its newest development, the double spiral CT scanning technique (DXP), seem to offer interesting perspectives in this regard.