Groups Issue Joint Position Statement for Use of Cone Beam Computed Tomography
The American Association of Endodontists (AAE) and American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (AAOMR) have issued a revised position statement on the use of CBCT in endodontics.
In response to new developments and research indicating the effectiveness of three-dimensional cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) for endodontic diagnosis and treatment, the American Association of Endodontists (AAE) and American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (AAOMR) have issued a revised position statement (aae.org/guidelines) on the use of CBCT in endodontics.
A joint committee of AAE and AAOMR experts reviewed the literature from the past five years, and updated the position statement to include specific recommendations for the appropriate use of CBCT. Emphasizing that in the absence of clinical signs and symptoms CBCT should not be routinely used for endodontic diagnosis or screening purposes, the statement provides 11 recommendations and supporting evidence for when it should be considered the imaging modality of choice. The statement — which is consistent with the “as low as reasonably achievable” (ALARA) principle of keeping radiation doses as low as possible while still generating diagnostic-quality images — notes that the patient’s history and clinical examination must justify the use of CBCT by demonstrating that the benefits outweigh the risks.
“While endodontists continue to achieve excellent results with two-dimensional radiography,” notes AAE President Terryl A. Propper, DDS, MS, “limited-field-of-view CBCT does have a place in endodontics when dealing with more complex cases. Our goal is to help clinicians determine where it fits for them.”
