CBCT Installation: What To Expect

CBCT is a major investment for a dental practice, and offers the potential to provide significant boosts to production and profitability. It is important that you not only identify the right CBCT system for your practice, but also the right company to provide it. CBCT systems are delicate, highly precise units-- shouldn't the company installing them have the expertise and experience to place the unit where it will be accessible, compliant, and aesthetic? Here are important aspects of any good CBCT install that you should make sure your provider includes. Spoiler alert: with Dental TI, all of these aspects of an installation are included, free of charge.

Well before your installers ever arrive, they should create an "installation plan" showing the room where the unit will be placed; its orientation; placement of any required outlets, conduit, or wall-backing; the acquisition PC location; and the location of the exposure switch. This installation plan should also be sent to a licensed physicist to create a "shielding report" based on the scatter plot of the CBCT system to be installed which states whether or not any additional shielding will be required to satisfy local regulations. In a few states, this shielding report is not required, but those states are the exception to the rule. 

CBCT installation is a long process; be wary of any company who claims they can do the job in under 5 hours. Once the new unit is loaded into the practice, and the area is staged for its installation, the first step is typically to ensure wall-backing has been placed, or that there are studs that the unit can be anchored to. Once the unit is up, a good installation will run all power and communication cables through the wall for the best possible aesthetics and wire concealment. Unless a specific counter-space or desk has been identified for the location of the acquisition PC, the PC, monitor, and keyboard should all be mounted flat to the wall. The acquisition switch should be placed far enough away to ensure the operator is not exposed to scatter radiation. If a clear line of sight to the patient cannot be maintained, a mirror or webcam should be installed to provide a visual of the patient while scans are being taken. 
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If you want to make sure that your CBCT system will be installed with the highest level of attention paid to the important details: accessibility, compliance, and aesthetics, we recommend purchasing from Dental TI. Feel free to contact us at any time to discuss your imaging plans for 2020 and beyond!  

To see more examples of great CBCT installations, check out Dental TI's Instagram profile!