While the standard imaging modalities that are available in dental offices will suffice for many of the cases being evaluated in oral medicine, there are situations in which it is appropriate to refer the patient to a hospital or other facility for a specialized imaging procedure.
The decision of which type of imaging to request depends on the question to be answered. Is there a need for information on hard tissue, soft tissue, or both? Is the disease process
apparently localized or widespread? Is functional information needed in addition to or in place of anatomic information? How much anatomic detail is necessary? Is three-dimensional reconstruction of the image contemplated?
The rest of this section discusses the imaging modalities that are available in most imaging centers today.
The rest of this section discusses the imaging modalities that are available in most imaging centers today.