Victoria CBCT implant imaging, what an X-ray cannot show
An ordinary dental X-ray is a flat picture of a three dimensional jaw. It shows height reasonably and width not at all. Since width is what decides whether a post can be surrounded by bone, implant planning needs a CBCT scan that sees in three dimensions.
The measurement CBCT gives that a flat image cannot
A ridge can look perfectly adequate on a standard X-ray and still be too thin to hold a post, because the image flattens the cheek to tongue dimension entirely. That is the exact dimension that resorbs first after a tooth is lost, which is why so many sites that look fine turn out to need Ridge Augmentation.
A CBCT scan reconstructs the jaw in cross section, so width and height are both measurable in millimetres. It also places the inferior alveolar nerve in the lower jaw and the sinus floor in the upper, which is what makes Sinus Lift Surgery a planned decision instead of a surprise.
The same data drives the surgical guide, described on Guided Implant Surgery. One scan, taken once, feeds both the plan and the guide made from it.
Imaging
How it works
Taking and using a CBCT scan, in four steps
The scan itself
You sit or stand still while the machine rotates once around your head. It takes under a minute and nothing touches your mouth.
Reconstruction
The software builds a three dimensional model from the images, which can be sliced in any direction to look at a single site.
Measure and plan
Bone height and width at the site, distance to the nerve or sinus, and the implant position chosen against those numbers.
Review with you
We show you the same images on screen and explain what they mean, rather than quoting a plan you have to take on trust.
Radiation
A fair question about CBCT dose
A CBCT scan does involve more radiation than a single dental X-ray and considerably less than a medical CT of the same region. It is taken because the information genuinely changes the treatment, not as routine. Where a case is straightforward and a standard image answers the question, we will not take one.
It is also why we take one CBCT scan and use it for everything: the assessment at your Implant Consultation, the plan, and the guide. If you have had a recent scan elsewhere, bring it; we may be able to use it rather than repeat it. What the imaging contributes to the fee is itemised on Dental Implant Cost, and how bone loss shows up on a scan is on Jawbone Bone Loss.
Under a minuteScan time
When it changes the planTaken
For the guideReused
Related pages
What the Victoria CBCT scan feeds into
The consultation it happens at, and the decisions it drives afterwards.
Dose, comfort, whether it is always needed and using an existing scan.
The dose is higher than a routine dental X-ray and much lower than a hospital CT of the same area. It is taken when the information will change what we do, which for implant planning it almost always does. If a case does not need one, we do not take one.
No. You sit or stand still and the machine rotates around your head. Nothing goes into your mouth and it is over in well under a minute. People who struggle with conventional X-ray films usually find it easier, not harder.
Often yes, if it is recent and covers the right region at adequate resolution. Bring it or ask them to send it. Repeating imaging that already exists is a cost and a dose neither of us needs.
Yes, on screen, during the appointment. Seeing your own bone in cross section is the single most useful thing for understanding why a plan says what it says, particularly when the answer is that grafting is needed.
Usually yes, because width and nerve position cannot be assessed any other way, and both matter even in a simple case. What varies is whether a guide is then made from it. The scan is the part that is hard to responsibly skip.
Victoria patients
What Victoria patients say about the scan
★★★★★4.9· 118 reviews on Google
★★★★★
Over in seconds and nothing in my mouth, which I had been dreading after years of X-ray films.
C. Nakagawa
First scan, Victoria
★★★★★
Had a scan from six months earlier. They used it rather than making me have another.
B. Hollander
Reused an old scan, Langford
★★★★★
Seeing how thin my ridge actually was made the grafting recommendation obvious rather than suspicious.
F. Lindgren
Saw the cross section, Colwood
★★★★★
Lower jaw so the nerve position mattered. They showed me the clearance before I agreed to anything.
T. Nwosu
Nerve mapped, Saanich
From the blog
Victoria implant guides: imaging, grafting and cost
Imaging is on site and taken at the consultation, so the assessment and the scan happen in one visit. You see the images with us and hear what the measurements mean before any plan is written.
