Worldental Daily, Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Opinion Wednesday, 29 August 2012 T he ability to examine the craniofacialanatomywithhelp of three-dimensional images obtained through Cone Beam Com- puterized Tomography (CBCT) has been praised as the new gold stan- dard in oral surgery. Worldental Daily had the opportunity to speak with Prof. Stefan Haßfeld from the University of Dortmund’s Depart- ment of Oral and Cranio-Maxillo- facial Surgery in Germany, who will be presenting an afternoon session on CBCT in Hall F this Wednesday about the technology and its future potential. I Worldental Daily: Prof. Haßfeld, in your opinion, has CBCT become a standard in dentistry? Prof. Stefan Haßfeld: CBCT has been available in dentistry for over a decade and since then has been established as a standard for many indications. Despite this develop- ment, I doubt that the technology will make traditional imaging ob- solete any time soon. Instead, it will be used as an aid in more complex treatments. I One of the areas in which CBCT is usedisimplanttreatmentplanning. What are the other main areas of application? Nowadays, the technology is widely used in complex oral and maxillofacial surgery procedures. For example, we regularly examine large cysts and deeply impacted third molars with CBCT. Its use can also be of benefit for the diagnosis of maxillary sinus diseases, as well as in traumatology or the correction of anomalies and dysgnathias. I What potential does the technol- ogy offer regarding the improve- ment of treatment outcomes? In contrast to traditional imag- ing, CBCT allows the human auto- nomy and pathology to be as- sessed in detail in 3-D space. This can be extremely helpful for treat- ment planning and the assessment of regions that present a surgical risk, like adjacent nerves, teeth or blood vessels. In many cases, we expect a sig- nificant reduction in operative risks and an improvement in surgical planning. I According to the industry, the radiation dose for patients is signi- ficantly lower with CBCT. Do you agree with this statement? I would have to disagree, since compared with traditional imaging, CBCT usually has a higher radiation dose. However, it also yields com- pletely different information. By tak- ing a high number of single images from different angles, CBCT can pro- vide lower radiation doses only in a few exceptional cases. I Is this the only drawback com- paredwithtraditionalimagingtech- niques? As CBCT has another field of indi- cations, comparison with traditional imaging techniques is not appro- priate. However, there are indeed some shortcomings, like higher ra- diation doses and costs, as well as a lower resolution compared with dental film. I What role will CBCT play in dental practices in the future? CBCT will take root in dental practices, particularly in those with emphasis on surgery, when it comes to certain complex treatment is- sues. For all the mentioned reasons, traditional imaging methods will not disappear.ApanoramicX-rayimage, for example, provides an excellent overview of the entire jaw arch for clinically oriented examinations, with only little effort and at a small radiation dose. Dental film still offers the high- est resolution for viewing details. Rather, the establishment of CBCT for dental imaging offers us addi- tional options for daily practice. I Thank you very much for this inter- view. AninterviewwithcongresspresenterProf.StefanHaßfeld,Germany 06 www.fdiworldental.org Optimal illumination Small head High colour rendering index Perfect LED positioning + + + One light – four advantages, the perfect combination. Synea turbines TraditionalimagingwillnotdisappearwithCBCT AD IProf.StefanHaßfeld