Earlier this week I published a tongue-in-check piece which has suddenly become one of my most popular texts on this blog. Today I want to switch back to more serious tone and try to answer a simple question:
“When should we take CBCT of the orthodontic patient?”
How many times online or during the conference we have seen a practitioner advocating for the routine use of CBCT? To justify this the orthodontist would often show the images of scanned airways or primary dentition before and after. “3D images helped me to diagnose airway constriction and crowding, I can’t even imagine how I would now practice without this marvellous technology!” – such specialist would say. This, of course, are strong statements, and looking closer you will likely find an affiliation of the practitioner with the manufacturer of diagnostic equipment.
Let’s now throw away all the possible speculations and draw our attention to the current research data.
