Some current legal issues that may affect oral and maxillofacial radiology. Part 2: digital monitors and cone-beam computed tomography.

In this second of 2 papers about technological developments in dental radiology, we discuss the legal impact of using digital monitors and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) on dental practice. Although some technical developments such as charge-coupled devices and photostimulatable phosphors are commonly used in the dental profession, some, such as greyscale monitors, are better known in medicine as standards of care for primary diagnosis. This complex subject has been overviewed. The recent emergence of CBCT, which is changing current approaches to imaging for preimplant planning, has provoked a number of legal dilemmas, such as an accompanying responsibility for reading and interpreting large fields of view that include extragnathic areas that are ordinarily outside the dentist"s purview.