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This prosthetic knowledge is a distinct advantage the dental laboratory technologist would have over the office-based clinician or the radiologist in a processing center providing dental CBVCT radiography services. In addition to assisting the GP and/or specialist in planning the implant site below the gumline, the trained lab technologist can make sure the implant is placed correctly to achieve optimal esthetics for the visible restoration.

Obviously, the patient and the CBVCT radiography unit need to be in the same geographic location at the start of the process. After that, the digital data can be sent electronically to just about anywhere for processing.

So, is it practical for a lab to make the capital investment, which can be upwards of $150,000? Ganon said labs acting as CBVCT scanning centers would need to be demographically located in a heavily populated area to allow patients easy access from the referring dental practitioner. He uses the purchase of a CT imaging system by MicroDental Laboratories, located near San Francisco in Dublin, Calif., as an example of a lab’s centralized geographical location working to its advantage.

Fu alternately sees the opportunity CBVCT offers labs to grow by serving large numbers of clients. “For the very savvy labs, they will have more business because, in the future, they will be the center that serves all those dentists that want to use high-tech,” she said. “Labs will become a technology center, maybe even a radiology center.”

Regardless of where they are located, Llop anticipates, “You will see a huge insurgence of excitement for CBVI. In the next two years, it will become the standard of care for those who are serious about implant surgery and who want to offer their patients the most predictable and least invasive, successful prosthetic outcome.”