Pregnant patients may not eligible for the procedure because of the higher radiation exposure compared to regular X-rays. Other patients will be required to remove any metal objects, including eyeglasses, jewelry, hairpins, body piercings, hearing aids, dentures, and other removable dental appliances that may affect the CT images. Also consider wearing loose-fitting, comfortable attire.
Cone beam CT is different from traditional CT because the former uses a smaller, less expensive machine that’s suitable for outpatient applications, though both produce similar kinds of high-quality images. Cone beam CT also has lower radiation exposure. With cone beam CT, the dentist moves a cone-shaped X-ray beam around the patient to create multiple views or images.