Provisional Guidelines on CBCT for Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology

 

A principal aim of the SEDENTEXCT project was to develop evidence-based guidelines dealing with justification, optimisation and referral criteria as applied to CBCT. This has been addressed by a Guideline Development Panel made up of members of the SEDENTEXCT Consortium. The resulting document builds upon the "Basic Principles" for CBCT use, developed by the European Academy of Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology and the SEDENTEXCT team. The method chosen was systematic review of the literature. The literature available for formal review was, however, limited in quantity. Because of this, the Guideline Development Panel also reviewed the many case reports/ series and non-systematic reviews available.

Of particular note is the proliferation in CBCT equipment manufacturers and models; research evidence for one CBCT machine may not apply to other equipment. As a consequence, caution is needed in generalising research findings. Many of the recommendations made are "Best Practice" rather than carrying any formal evidence grade, based upon the informed judgement of the Guideline Development Panel. It is important, therefore, to remember that these are provisional guidelines. We hope that, by the end of the SEDENTEXCT project (2011), sufficient high quality evidence will have accumulated to allow us to develop guidelines that are more "evidence-based".

Please remember that the literature reviewed does not take account publications in the three months prior to the development of these guidelines. The time required for review and guideline development means that we will always lag behind. In a rapidly changing research scene, we will be updating these guidelines regularly during the project to take account of this.

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