Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in dentistry- students' and interns' perspective in Abha, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

AIM: To assess the perspective of dental students and interns towards various aspects of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 5th year students, final year students and interns of College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha. A convenient sample of 380 students was taken for the study. A valid, reliable slightly modified questionnaire (Appendix 1) having 11-items was included in the questionnaire. The two sections of the questionnaire consisted of questions related to demographic data such as gender and academic level in the first and questions related to Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in the second section. Students who were aware of CBCT use in dentistry were included in the study whereas those unaware of its use were excluded from the study. RESULTS: When subjects were asked whether they were aware of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) use specifically for dentistry; 68% were aware while 32% did not know about it. The findings of our study showed that 49.48%, 58.7% and 80% of the 5th year, final year students and interns, respectively; believed that lower radiation dose was the most important advantage of using CBCT over medical CT. Majority of the study subjects would choose CBCT in procedures like implants, extraction of impacted teeth, evaluation of patient's cysts/tumors and orthodontic assessment. On comparing the responses of the three groups, a statistically significant difference was found. CONCLUSION: Although a majority of students and interns were aware of the use of CBCT in dentistry still 32% were unaware about it. CBCT is a potential imaging modality to bring a new era in the world of imaging science. It has many advantages over medical CT as it overcomes many limitations of the same.