ABSTRACT
Background: Dental implant placement has become a very common procedure in the modern era. Pre operative assessment is of immense value to ensure the long term stability of dental implants. Aim: The aim of our study was to compare the efficacy of Dental CT with radiography in planning implant surgery and pre-operative evaluation prior to implant placement. Methods: We conducted a hospital based prospective study in which patients for dental implant placement were evaluated with Dental CT and Radiography. Results: The radiographs overestimated the height of the alveolar ridge in majority of the pre implant cases as compared to Dental CT. For bucco-lingual analysis Dental CT provided an overwhelming advantage over Dental Radiography and clinical examination. The angle of alveolar ridge could not be assessed on radiographs whereas could be accurately estimated on Dental CT. Bone density of the implant site could be quantitatively determined on Dental CT whereas could not be determined on Radiographs. Conclusions: We concluded that Dental CT yields significantly better information than radiographs regarding pre-operative assessment of dental implants.