Dental CT Scans Explained
Why implants are planned in 3D, what a CT scan shows that a standard X-ray misses, how we keep the dose down, and what a scan costs.
What Can a Dental CT Scan See, and How Safe Is It?
A dental CT, also known as CBCT or cone beam CT, captures your jaws in three dimensions. Where an ordinary X-ray is flat, a CT shows bone height and thickness, the course of the nerve, the sinuses and the shape of each root. Its dose is above that of a small dental X-ray but well below a hospital CT, and we scan only when the 3D detail will alter your treatment. Peninsula Dentists has its own CT scanner on Greenwich Peninsula: a scan is £120 per arch, and it's included in full-arch implant fees.
What a Dental CT Scan Shows
Think of a normal dental X-ray as a shadow cast on a sheet of film. It tells us how tall the bone is and roughly how the roots are shaped, but it squashes everything into a single plane, so bone thickness and front-to-back position are invisible. A cone beam CT, usually shortened to CBCT, records the jaw as a volume instead. On screen we can spin that volume, cut through it at any angle and measure to a fraction of a millimetre. It reveals how much bone, in both height and width, is left where a tooth has gone; the path of the inferior alveolar nerve inside the lower jaw; how low the maxillary sinus dips over the upper premolars and molars; the roots of adjacent teeth; and how dense the bone is. With that, we can judge whether an implant will fit the space you need it in, choose its length and diameter, decide on grafting and plan a route that stays clear of nerve and sinus.
When We Recommend a Scan
- Implant planning, for anything from one tooth to a full arch, where the scan is essential to place implants safely
- Bone grafting decisions, since the scan shows whether the bone is already sufficient, whether a small graft alongside the implant would help, or whether the site needs rebuilding beforehand
- Implant-retained dentures, to plan where the two or four supporting implants should go
- Full-arch treatment, where it lets us angle the back implants around the nerve and sinus, often avoiding a graft altogether
A routine dental examination doesn't call for a CT scan; small digital X-rays give the detail needed at a far lower dose. Each scan has to be clinically justified, meaning we take one only when the 3D picture will alter your treatment, and if you don't need one we'll tell you.
Planning an Implant?
Start with a free implant consultation with Dr Riaz, who will tell you whether a CT scan is needed.
How Safe Is It? Radiation Explained
Every X-ray involves ionising radiation, so the guiding principle is to use the lowest exposure that answers the clinical question. Compared with the small X-rays taken at a dental examination, a CBCT dose is larger, simply because it records a whole section of jaw instead of a couple of teeth. Compared with a hospital CT, which takes in much more of the body, it is far smaller. The exact dose depends on how big an area is captured and on the machine settings, so we restrict the field of view to what the task needs and choose the lowest settings that still produce a clear image.
Under UK radiation regulations, a clinician must justify every X-ray exposure. A scan therefore always follows either a consultation or a referral, and it goes ahead only if what it shows will affect your plan. If you are pregnant, or could be, let us know and we'll discuss whether the scan can be postponed.
What Having a Scan Involves
If you've had a hospital scan, this will feel very different. Metal near the head spoils the picture, so glasses, earrings, necklaces and hair clips come off first. You then rest your chin on a small support, standing or seated, and close gently onto a bite guide. While you keep still and breathe as usual, the arm of the scanner travels once around your head, which is over in a few seconds. You won't be enclosed, you won't need an injection and you won't feel anything. The 3D images appear on the monitor almost immediately, and we talk you through them there and then, pointing out the bone, the nerve canal and the likely implant position. A copy is yours if you'd like it.
How the Scan Becomes Your Surgical Guide
The scan isn't just a safety check; it's where the plan begins. Working on the 3D model, Dr Imran Riaz decides exactly where each implant will go, at what angle and how deep, to suit your bone, keeping well clear of the nerve and sinus. The plan is then turned into a 3D-printed surgical guide that fits over your teeth or gums on the day of surgery and directs each MegaGen AnyRidge implant to its planned position using the MegaGen R2 guided surgery system. Knowing the positions in advance often means a smaller, less invasive procedure, and when a whole arch is having same-day teeth, the temporary bridge can be made ahead of surgery day. That's why every implant case here is scanned, and why a plan made elsewhere from a flat X-ray alone deserves a second opinion.
Scan Fees
| Scan | Fee |
|---|---|
| Cone beam CT, one arch | £120; dental plan members £108 |
| Cone beam CT on referral from another clinician | £120 |
| Small X-ray, as taken at examinations | £10; covered by dental plans |
| Full-arch implants, each arch | CT scan included; treatment from £9,300 |
There's no charge for an implant consultation. We take a £40 deposit when you book and refund it once you've attended, and a scan is only arranged if your case needs one. Single and multiple implants carry a separate CT fee. Full-arch treatment is different: on all four of our pathways, the scan sits inside the per-arch fee alongside the 3D plan, your implants and the permanent bridge, with extractions, temporary teeth and guided surgery included where your pathway lists them.2 For the full breakdown, see our implant cost guide.
Scans for Referring Dentists
Dentists and other registered clinicians in Greenwich, across SE London and beyond can send patients to us for imaging: a cone beam CT costs £120 and an iTero Element intraoral scan £120.2 We return the images securely as DICOM files within 48 hours, ready to load into your planning software. The service covers the scan files only and doesn't include a radiology report. X-ray imaging isn't available on self-referral, since a clinician has to judge that it's justified. What anyone can do is book a free consultation; should a scan turn out to be necessary, we can usually take it before you leave. The referral form is on our referrals page, and the technology page describes the rest of our equipment.
Questions
This guide explains the options in general terms. Only an examination can tell you which of them suits your own teeth.