Cone beam computed tomography for the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses.

The paranasal sinuses are 4 paired airspaces that border the nasal cavity. Dental professionals are most familiar with the maxillary sinuses as viewed in 2-D imaging (eg, periapical, panoramic projections). With increasing implementation of 3-D imaging, specifically cone beam CT, there is a high probability that much or all of the paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity will be captured in a scan. It is incumbent on practitioners to be familiar with all the structures contained within a scanned area. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the anatomy of the nasal cavity as well as common anatomic variants and pathologic entities.