CBCT Machine: Suggestions for how to select?

What are you planning to use it for? Implant ? Ortho? Endo?

Carestream 8100

You will have to narrow down some things: 1. what are the top procedures you will use it for, not just for now, but also 5 years from now? 2. what is your budget? 3. how much room do you have? There's some units I can't even consider because of the space available in my office. For sure pick one where the data captured is in a format that is easily shared between labs and other offices; and has a low radiation exposure to the patient. For me, it also needs to be easy for staff to use and come with an intuitive software to interpret the data. Happy shopping.

You have to look into various different CBCT machines in the market and available locally. Check which one you like the most. Every manufacturer use their own planning software. Remember. You cant make any changes once you have made a choice and you are stuck with for 5-10 years. If you use it for implants the cost ranges from £ 30,000 to £ 55,000. All endo cases can be scanned with a lower FOV. If you need it for Orthodontics and need to add Cephalometric arms, it costs more to do so. You have to navigate through their scans and see which one you feel most comfortable with. Finally, you have to look into what your rep is offering. For example, are they providing you with warranty and care for at least 5 years or is it 2 year standard manufacturer warranty with an extension for another 3 years with additional costs. ( Cover yourself for 5 years at least ) In CBCT, if the scanner is gone, its very expensive to replace these. Sensors costs apprximatley 2/3rd of the cost of machine itself. If you are using it for implants then how big do you want your area to be. This is determined by FOV ( Field of View ) expressed in cms. For example 5x5 gives you an area of 5cms x 5cms or about 3 width teeth. You can select example 5cms x5cms or FOV 8X10 which means 8cms x 10 cms. The higher the FOV the more expensive the machines as they use larger sensors which determines the cost of the machine. So, Endo cases need 4x4 or 5x5 FOV, and full arch implant jaw to be scanned may need FOV 10x10 or more if needed or it can go up to 12x12 or more for larger scans. Scanning centers use industrial grade large FOV machines whereas small centres use FOV up to 8x8 or 10x10. Examples of these machines include: Kodak Care stream 8100 ( Newer model and designed for implant based practices )Uses Carestream viewer and has FOV of 5x5 as minimum and 10x10 as maximum. Vatech ( Korean company ) has Paxi3D, Uni3d, Green, etc and uses Easy 3D software Sirona XG 3D Orthophos, etc uses Galileos/Galaxis software ICAT scanner uses ICAT Vision Software Planmeca uses their own 3d software, planmeca Romexis The list goes on. Please see these softwares on you tube, see what scans you find easy to use, navigate a scan and see what you like NB: Most of the above CT Scanners yield DICOM files ( Digital imaging and communications in Medicine ) aka DCM.files and they can be downloaded in most planning softwares to navigate and plan in other softwares. You can get scans from Carestream CS8100 and use it on Bluesky Bio free software and get guides for implants, etc. ( Check on such compatbilities and enquire with reps ) You need some research and do not do a deal hastily as you need to see whats out there, and what suits you the best, Please take time and exhaust yourself with what are pros and cons and choose the best. Hope this information gives you a headstart. All the best !

I have a Biolase ( now Chefla) VG3. I have had it for 3 years. I use it everyday. Some images are grea,t some are not. However, the service and training is horrible. They sent the wrong parts when it was delivered, so that day of training was wasted. The trainer that was sent to me was awesome, but the $120,000 machine only came with 1.5 days of training. They have no training on line and the new company that took over wants to charge me$100 per hour of training with a three hour minimum. But, I can't practice without it.

I have a Vatech i3D Smart CT with Pano. This machine takes a pano and CT at the same time (two dedicated sensors). The training and support are great to excellent. I place and restore implants daily. I have no issues with Vatech.

I would do research on which machine has software that reduces or eliminate "scattering."

I have a somewhat unique practice in that I perform implants and related procedures (sinus, etc) in other dentists offices. As a result I use many different machines. Vatech manufactures the xray head and sensor for many different companies. As a result Vatech's service is second to none. Vatech, Icat, Newtom are good machines. Carestream is barely adequate and Sirona I wouldn't own. Ive heard the new Sirona is a big improvement but the old one is just awful.

My OMFS friends each have the Vatech machines and are happy with them. They seems to have been pretty reliable. I have a Sirona XG3D machine that is 3 years old and have had no issues with it. I use it for Endo, Oral pathology and Implants. My friends and I have compared my Sirona XG3D and their Vatech images and agree mine are better. The reason they did not get my machine is the FOV is too small for OMFS. Sirona's machines with the larger FOV 3 years ago did not have the same quality of image as did mine. I'm not sure if that is still the case today but I would certainly look into it. Good luck with your search.

I have Genoray's Volux 21. Purchased 5 years ago and haven't had any issues. Great price, large FOV, easy to use and great support. I believe the images have been fine. Some distortion when patients move or lot's of metal fillings, implants or root canals. The machine has now been replaced with the Papaya from Genoray. I can't speak for the new machine but I can say that the company has always been great for support when needed... which hasn't been very often. I am moving my office and considered an upgrade to the Papaya, but I didn't like that it doesn't have a floor mount option at this time. It has a large foot that I feel will be a bit cumbersome to navigate.

Keep away from Planmeca Hopeless images. Very poor and ideally that should be banned from the market. Not fit for purpose. Only advantage the dose is very low.

I have the Vatech Green and I am very satisfied for all fields of dentistry ; surgeries, implants , endo , pathology , diagnostics .

I have a carestream 9000 that bought cheaper new from a customer who after purchased wanted to 'upgrade' to colour sirona. I am happy with this machine as to me, most CBCT scanners provide the same information: only how they present that information differs and a nicer pic adds little to diagnostic info. Beware having a machine that will scan all jaw but cannot be zoomed down to scan jaw area only. You are not qualified to report on non dental areas and if you miss a lesion in other areas you will be (in UK at least) deemed negligent as you did not have a specialist report. Hence I am happy with my small jaw areas that I can ask to 'stitch' together if required.

I applaud the above comments. I own a Sirona Orthophos XG 3D with ceph attachment. It has a dedicated panograph mode and seperate CBCT mode, as opposed to units that only have the CBCT mode and give you a "derived" panex. That means that all patients are getting CBCT levels of radiation exposure. I wouldn't want that for my family. Sirona has excellent training and service. The unit has been relatively trouble free. Image quality is over the top. I integrate images with Cerec scan's then design and mill surgical guides, custom healing abutments and final restorations. It's been an incredible learning experience and worth it. Good luck.

Any info from instrumentarium users on quality , support?

I have a planmenca promax mid- It is by far the best machine and produces the best images i've ever seen The scatter reduction technology and the ability to work with your data to maximize diagnostic quality is unsurpassed. I see many scans, taken on other machines, every day. My planmeca pro max scanner is an incredibly powerful instrument. My referring dentists love the resolution and images it produces. I shopped around before i got this machine. I have just recently begun integrating the X-Nav dynamic guiding technology. It has worked seemlessly. The technicians routinely comment on the quality of my scans, all saying that they are the finest they have seen. Probably cost u more, but for planning and placing dental implants, well worth it.

Training was mentioned a lot... 1. what did your "training" consist of? 2. who did the training 3. did any manufacturer show you how to export the dicom data or just burn a CD 4. have any of you owners sought training in anatomy in CBCT, interpretation, risk, liability issues? What was the main factor in purchase?

A lot of good info coming from this page. I've recently joined my fathers practice and am placing implants. Playing tug-of-war between Planmeca ProMax 3D Plus and VA Tech's Geen CT2 3D. Does anyone have any input on this comparison. How does the planning software compare? Positives and negatives to either? Thank you in advanced.