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The following is from a press release from Imaging Sciences the folks behind the I-Cat:

“A new report was released this week by the New England Journal of Medicine identifying new dangers of medical CT scans. Specifically, the research shows that unnecessary or overused patient CT scans have been found to cause an increased risk of cancer. But what about dental patients who are required to get a CT scan before dental procedures? Do they face the same risks?

In the dental industry, dentists needing to capture 3-D data of a patient’s mouth, face, and jaw prior to treatment planning and surgical procedures can send the patient out to get a medical CT. However, it is important for dental patients and dental practitioners to recognize and understand the differences between a medical CT scan of the chest, which is the one referenced in the latest research report, a maxillofacial CT scan for a dental procedure.

The radiation dose in a dental CT scan is significantly less-about 100 times less-than the levels released in this recent report on medical chest CT scans. Dental patients then, are not facing the same risks as stated in the report.”