Cone Beam CT Scanner Smile Store

Our Cone Beam CT scanner, the largest one in private practice in Ireland, is engineered to provide a three-dimensional view of all the interior structures in the head and jaw, whilst subjecting the patient to the absolute minimum of radiation.

It’s most useful for evaluating bone volume in planning implant placement.

Our CT scanner is here on site at the clinic, so patients who need a three-dimensional CT scan only need to walk down the corridor and do not need to be referred out.

A high proportion of Irish patients have been reliant on dentures for many years. Most have major bone deficiencies in their jaws, as once the natural tooth is gone, the bone where it used to live begins to shrink back into the body.

For the reason, most patients need a bone grafting (or ‘bone augmentation’) to give them enough bone to securely hold an implant.

Patients missing teeth from the upper jaw may need a ‘sinus lift’ which involves bone material placed between the floor of the sinus and the gum, in order to grow enough bone in the are to take an implant so the floor of the sinus does not get punctured.

The CT scan provides all the detailed information necessary to add the appropriate levels of bone grafting and sinus lifts to the patient’s treatment plan.

The CT scanner allows the specialists to see what bone is available; where the facial nerves and structures are in relation to the site and provides the 3-D details surgeons need to plan detailed, accurate treatment plans.

A CT scan is also very useful in cases with hard-to-locate root canals, or for wisdom tooth extraction with nerves in close proximity.