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CBCT
CBCT 3D OPG builds on the panoramic dental X-ray many patients already know, but records your jaw as a 3D volume instead of one flat rotating picture. A standard panoramic film sweeps a beam around your head in a single pass and prints everything onto one image, so teeth that sit close together can overlap and blur. This scan covers that same broad view, both jaws, the teeth, and nearby sinus and joint areas, but stores it as a stack of thin slices your dentist can scroll through on screen. Overlapping structures separate out instead of stacking onto each other. Your dentist orders it when a flat panoramic view raises a question it can't answer alone.
The scan covers the same broad area as a standard panoramic X-ray, both jaws, the full set of teeth, and nearby sinus and joint regions, but as a 3D volume rather than one flat image. Your dentist scrolls through the slices to check tooth position, root angles, and bone level without the overlap a flat panoramic film shows.
A panoramic X-ray, sometimes called an OPG, has been the standard first look at the whole mouth for decades. It is fast and shows a lot in one image, but it flattens a curved, three-dimensional jaw onto a single plane, so some detail gets compressed or hidden behind other teeth.
CBCT 3D OPG scans the same region with a rotating source and captures enough data to reconstruct it as a volume. Instead of one printed image, your dentist gets a set of slices that can be viewed from different angles, so a tooth or root that overlapped with its neighbour on a flat film shows up on its own layer.
This is typically a step up from a standard panoramic X-ray, not a replacement for it. Your dentist might order it after a panoramic view shows something unclear, such as a root position that needs confirming before treatment, or an area where teeth overlap too much to read on a flat image.
- Shows the full upper and lower jaw as separate cross-section slices - Useful when a flat panoramic film could not resolve overlapping teeth or roots - Still a broad, whole-mouth view rather than a close-up of one tooth
Ask your dentist why the 3D version is needed over a standard panoramic film for your specific case.
A regular panoramic X-ray is one flat image taken in a single sweep. CBCT 3D OPG covers the same broad area but builds a 3D volume your dentist can scroll through slice by slice, so overlapping teeth or roots don't blur together.
Usually not as a first step. A standard panoramic X-ray is typically tried first, and this scan is used when that image raises a question a flat picture can't settle.
It covers the same broad area as a standard panoramic film, both jaws and the full set of teeth, along with nearby sinus and joint regions. It is not focused on a single tooth.
The scanner rotates around your head while you stay still, similar in setup to a standard panoramic X-ray. Ask the centre for the exact time on the day of your scan.
This page is general information about the test, not medical advice. Your own report's reference ranges apply — please discuss your results with your doctor.
You may be asked to remove jewellery, glasses, or a removable dental appliance near your jaw. Check with your dentist or the centre for anything specific to your visit.
Tell your dentist and the centre if you are or might be pregnant before the scan is booked. They will decide whether it can wait or whether precautions are needed.
Ask the centre about their reporting timeline when you book, since this varies by case and by centre.