According To “Dr. Wo” Wm. Randol Womack, DDS, Board Certified Orthodontist, Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

 
CBCT & September Revisited
by Wm. Randol Womack, DDS, Board Certified Orthodontist
Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

We are really proud of our September issue of Orthotown Magazine, which focused on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), and we've gotten some outstanding feedback. Our effort is to continuously address all the issues surrounding CBCT. Thanks to Don Machen, DDS and Art Curley, Esq., JD, along with several others, we were able to tackle many of the current topics.

Wouldn't you know that just last week I came across an article on the American Association of Orthodontists Web site by James Bowlin, general counsel for the AAO and the AAO Insurance Company. He admonished all orthodontists who use CBCT scans in their practice to "err on the side of using professionals with training and experience in interpreting cone beam scans… rather than by doing it unilaterally." This alludes to using the services of an OMFR to review all CBCT scans.

Don Machen, in his September Orthotown article stated, "To suggest that orthodontists are not competent to view images using a newer technology is not accurate. Even if you do not feel competent reading CBCT images now, education and consultation can change this." This alludes to an orthodontist seeking training through CE certification courses and peer-to-peer consultations.

Gradually the fog is starting to lift and it may be "slightly" clearer now, that a stand entirely on one side (OMFR) or the other (CE certification courses) is not advisable. Education and consultation in learning to review CBCT scans will enable the orthodontist to more accurately determine when adding the services of an OMFR would be advisable.

I compare this evolution to the entrance of the diode laser into the practice of orthodontics. A few years ago when lasers were new to practice, "training" was the foundation of incorporating lasers into one's practice. Today, one's goal should be to complete a "certification" course in lasers and not just be satisfied with "training." The Academy of Laser Dentistry offers a very comprehensive 12-hour certification course, which I completed a year ago. When my insurance company or state board adds a dental laser certification requirement, and I feel sure that will happen, I am all set.

So the question regarding CBCT might be…where does one get CBCT certified? I completed such a CBCT certification course at the UNLV School of Dentistry a few months ago.

Education and consultation plus utilizing OMFR (when indicated) seem to be the direction that the risk management protocol for using CBCT in your practice is headed. To quote Dr. James Mah, "The orthodontist who develops the best use of technology will become the best orthodontist."

In addition, as Dr. Machen cautions, don't overlook the proper "informed consent" protocol when utilizing CBCT in your practice. We are updating ours as you read this.

Our September 2010 issue of Orthotown Magazine was our second devoted to cone beam computed tomography. The first issue with this focus was last year about this same time. In the first issue we had two pages that listed the CBCT machines most orthodontists would consider buying. My, how this explosion has happened! In the 2010 issue we had CBCT machines listed on four consecutive pages! And there are even more machines that we did not have room to include. As I mentioned before, CBCT issues are "going to get really interesting" and Orthotown Magazine will keep you updated.
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