The full article can be read on the Woman Dentist Journal's site, here. 

By Lynn Pierri, DDS, MS

For dental practitioners, cone beam technology will become like a cell phone. Once they have it, they will wonder how they ever did without it.

We all have that one patient who stays in our mind. Something about the person and his or her condition or treatment made them memorable. For me, that quintessential patient appeared in my office one year ago. In her sixth month of pregnancy, the patient presented as an emergency with severe jaw pain and swelling that was rapidly getting worse. She'd seen several dentists and physicians, but they were unable to diagnose her problem. Coincidentally, that same day, the Imaging Sciences i-CAT® cone beam 3-D imaging machine was installed in my office. She was an ideal case.

It took only a few seconds to safely scan her skull and generate 3-D images of her jaw structures. Studying the images, I immediately diagnosed the source of her problem and set about a treatment plan. It was the beginning of the end of her ordeal.

One member of her family was so happy, she called me literally crying with joy to thank me for making her loved one better. I remember thinking that the i-CAT paid for itself on its first day in use, due to the professional gratification that case gave me.

One year and more than 800 3-D images later, cone beam technology is a core part of my dental practice. I use the i-CAT up to a dozen times a day to diagnose and treat everything from implants and wisdom tooth removal, to tumors and infections. It has increased my acceptance and referral rate, diagnosis accuracy, and treatment predictability. The true-to-life 3-D images provide the most complete information on the anatomy of patients' mouth, face, and jaw areas.

I believe cone beam technology is becoming a standard of care. As such, practices committed to improving patient safety, diagnostic accuracy, treatment planning, and treatment outcome might be remiss if they don't seriously consider cone beam's use, benefits, and importance in diagnosis and treatment.