Cone Beam CT technology has developed rapidly over the last few years, and involves more complex imaging technology and higher patient doses than conventional dental x-ray equipment. There is also a lot of diversity in types of Cone Beam scanners on the market. The SENDENTEXCT project was established in 2008 in response to an urgent need for some basic guidance to users of CBCT because of concerns over inappropriate use. This is a collaborative European project, sponsored by the European Commission, established to acquire key information necessary for sound and scientifically based clinical use of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in dental and maxillofacial imaging. The SEDENTEXCT project published evidence based guidelines in 2011; "
Radiation protection: Cone Beam CT for Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology". This document makes recommendations on areas such as; referral criteria, quality assurance guidelines, and optimisation strategies, and provides the basis of a useful standard for the use of CBCT in clinical practice.
The UK Health Protection Agency have also published useful guidelines for CBCT including
Guidance on the Safe Use of Dental Cone Beam CT Equipment (2010), and
Recommendations for the Design of X-ray Facilities and the Quality Assurance of Dental Cone Beam CT (Computed Tomography) Systems. Other European states have also produced guidelines for CBCT, and these have been referenced and incorporated into the SEDENTEXCT document.
The document includes chapters on justification & referral criteria, equipment factors in the reduction of radiation risk to patients, quality standards and quality assurance (including dosimetry and image quality), staff protection, and training. It provides clear guidelines in all of these areas which could provide standards for audit criteria under most of the Dental Council headings in their Criteria For Clinical Audit.
A useful guide to Clinical Audit in Cone Beam CT has been compiled and is available from the
downloads section of the website.
