Medicolegal Issues Related to Cone Beam CT

The introduction of cone beam computed tomography into dentistry, and particularly into private offices, has raised a number of medicolegal issues. Among the issues raised are who may own and operate the machines, for what purposes should the machines be used, how broadly or narrowly should the field be collimated, does the full volume need to be interpreted and, if so, by whom? For images interpreted over the Internet (teleradiology), where must the interpreting radiologist be licensed? For images interpreted by a nonradiologist, may patients legally sign a waiver of liability for a dentist's interpretation of the films? This article explores these and other issues related to the use of cone beam computed tomography in dentistry.