Dr. Sanda Moldovan explains how 3D cone-beam CT scans help dentists see jaw anatomy and place implants more accurately than 2D X-rays, which are only about 50% accurate at locating the nerve. Modern limited-field scans use 1/50th the radiation of older doses.
Questions this video answers
December 14, 2016.
About 50% of the time.
She states it can be about 1/50 of the prior radiation dose (and in speech also says "reduced the radiation by more than 100%" then clarifies as 1/50).
She says she has had it in her office for "seven, eight years."
Patients with major dental work: prior root canals, wisdom-teeth removal, TMJ problems, or those planning dental implants.
Chapters
Hi everyone, I'm Dr. Sanda, welcome to my channel. I wanted to talk to you about CT scan technology in dentistry. Some of you may go to the dentist and your doctor may say, I need to see a CT scan. And what is that? That's really a way for us as dentists to see inside the jawbone. So for example, I have a sample CT scan over here. You can actually see the nerve going throughout the jawbone. So let's say you have missing teeth. We actually know where to put that dental implant in the space. But that's not the only thing the CT scans are used for in my office. I recommend a three dimensional scan on every patient walking in the office who has had major dental work, root canals, wisdom teeth removed or TMJ problems. And why is that? Because it's really the only way for us to see what's really going on. 2 dimensional X rays and were not even accurate at guessing where the nerve is. It's been shown to be only 50% of the time accurate. So if you're planning on having that dental implant, a CT scan for us today is the standard of care in dentistry prior to implant placement. So we know exactly where that nerve is. But let's say you've had a root canal. Root canals harbor a lot of bacteria or can harbor a lot of bacteria. It may not. So you do not feel it. Why? Because the tooth is already dead. So, so on the two dimensional X rays we really can't see the infection oftentimes. So when I started using CT scan technology, which I now have in my office for the last, I want to say, seven, eight years, we see so much more and we find so many more infections in the jawbone. And infections in the jawbone don't stay in the jawbone. They actually affect your overall health. So I really recommend that if you have your dentist ask him for a CT scan or, or for your root canal teeth to be scanned to see if indeed are they healthy and infection free. Some of you may say, well, yes, but what about the radiation? Nowadays we use cone beam CT scan technology which has reduced the radiation by more than 100%. So basically what before used to take a certain amount of radiation, now is 1/50 of that radiation with certain scanning methods. So we have the opportunity to also scan only the area, the jaw, that we're interested in. So for example, if you see this area, it only scanned 3, 4 teeth on the lower left jaw. But we can also scan a full arch. So we have the capability to do either one and to keep the radiation low today, so do not worry. However, if you want to protect yourself, one of the supplements you can take is iodine for your thyroid and have some chlorella for example, or natural iodine for the thyroid, because that's one of the organs that gets affected the most with exposure to radiation. If you have any other questions about CT scanning, tweet me at askdrsanda or go to my website and send me a message. Drsandamoldaban.com until next time, stay healthy.
