Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Hyderabad had recently introduced state-of-the-art modern Core Beam CT Scanner (CBCT) to provide best dental care in south India. The new equipment, acquired from Germany, is much superior and advanced compared to the conventional scanners.

Unlike the conventional scanners the main advantage with Cone Beam scanner is that the X-Ray Radiation exposure to the patient is up 10 times less than a regular CT scanner. Moreover, it is faster and takes about 10 to 40 seconds while a regular CT scanner takes about ten minutes.

Another key feature of the sophisticated CBCT is that the patient can view the three-dimensional picture of the teeth and get to know the condition of the decayed teeth and the existence of tumours, if any.

Despite being highly sophisticated, the CBCT is cost-effective since its average price is half that of a regular Medical CT scan. The regular Medical CT scanners are large-sized machines mostly available at hospitals and major diagnostic scanning centres while Cone Beam scanners are much smaller in size and mostly available at the clinicians’ office or at dedicated maxillofacial scanning centres.

The benefits of using a CBCT scanner are many. Unlike the regular x-rays, CT scans can discriminate between many types of tissue including bone, teeth, nerves and soft tissue. CT scans are non-invasive and can eliminate the need for exploratory surgery in some cases.

The CT can identify the effects of conditions such as infection and tumours. It is a cost effective tool for imaging a wide range of clinical problems. With this new equipment doctors can plan accurate treatments for Dental Implants maxillofacial surgery surgeries, etc.

The imported equipment is said to cost around Rs.1 to 1.5 crore. “The main advantage of CBCT is that it targets the specified areas unlike the conventional scanners. With this, we can provide more effective dental care as the new equipment gives every minute details of the affected areas,” said Dr M Prasad, KIMS, Hyderabad.

Adding further Dr Prasad said, “We have invested around Rs.2.5 to 3 crore to build this new dental care centre here in KIMS. We have employed specialists in all the seven dental specializations.”

Initially the Hospital is planning to offer the new dental care technology facility with 50 per cent discount for the public.