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The i-CAT FLX Cone Beam 3D system provides great flexibility in scanning, planning, and treatment with optimal clarity, ease-of-use, and control.
Ryan Brittingham, DDS, purchased the i-CAT FLX to help him grow his family practice into one that was more surgically driven. In particular, he hoped it would play a key role in improving implant procedures, bone grafting, extractions, and dentures. The system, he said, has since revolutionized his implant business.
“I feel better prepared before surgery than before the scans. My whole practice is different. I’m doing more high-level work that I really enjoy,” said Dr. Brittingham, who was among a team of dentists to evaluate the i-CAT FLX for Dental Product Shopper.
Designed for flexibility in scanning, planning, and treatment, the i-CAT FLX cone beam 3D system provides clinicians with advanced 3D treatment tools for implants and restorations, oral and maxillofacial surgery, TMJ and sinuses, and orthodontics.
Dr. Beth Snyder said she feels like she was “working blind in the past” without the i-CAT FLX. “[With the i-CAT] I can visualize pathology and no longer have to send patients out for the image I need. The CBCT [provided] all I needed for ortho and TMD.”
Image Quality and Diagnostic Capability
The i-CAT FLX offers flexible imaging control that targets the desired field of view while minimizing radiation exposure. Visual iQuity advanced image technology delivers the clearest 3D images while the unit’s ergonomic stability system minimizes patient movement. The user can choose from preset scan protocols or customize presets for simple and fast scanning.
“The i-CAT images definitely exceed [those of] their competitors,” Chris Saal, DDS, MD, reported. Dr. Mark Farina said the system allowed him to obtain quick 3D images for diagnosis and treatment planning. And Dr. Brent Dobson reported that the i-CAT FLX helped him discover many previously undiagnosed airway and sinus issues.
Dr. Snyder evaluated a patient for sleep apnea after another dentist found nothing after several periapicals. “My i-CAT image found an aggressive ameloblastoma requiring removal,” she reported, adding, “ENTs…are satisfied to use my i-CAT images to go into the OR for sinus surgery.” Daniel Klauer, DDS, said, “It gave me 3D/x-ray vision into the complex structures we evaluate on a daily basis. The unit is easy to use, reliable, and is a workhorse.”
Treatment Planning
The i-CAT FLX combines top-notch anatomy imaging software with cone beam 3D technology and provides immediate access to integrated treatment tools for implant planning, surgical guides, and other applications. “Treatment planning chairside was easy as pie with the software and image quality,” explained Michael McKinney, DMD, MD, who said the i-CAT is critical for treatment planning for dental implants.
The unit was vital in planning treatment for Dr. Brittingham’s patient who had all her teeth and both condyles removed and her mandible rebuilt after a car accident. “I created a combination of a sleep apnea appliance and a denture, and we are getting ready to place implants to make this appliance an implant-supported fixed appliance,” he explained.
Dr. Saal said he had several cases where a panoramic radiograph or periapical films seemed to indicate adequate bone for implant placement. However, when a 3D scan was obtained, Dr. Saal found significant undercuts or buccal-lingual dimension that prohibited implant placement without bone grafting. “In many cases, the surgery would have had to be aborted without a pre-op 3D CBCT,” he said.
Dr. Klauer called the i-CAT FLX “a phenomenal patient education tool,” and Dr. Snyder said it sells the care he’s presenting because the patient can visualize the issues alongside of him.
Reduced Radiation Exposure
Users of the i-CAT FLX can select the appropriate scan with an ALARA radiation dose and can attain a full-dentition 3D imaging scan at a dose lower than a 2D panoramic x-ray. “Prior to the i-CAT FLX, we didn’t take a 3D image on every patient due to exposure concerns, but with the FLX we now feel comfortable taking a 3D image on all our patients,” reported Cy Alizadeh, DDS. Dr. Snyder said she purchased the FLX after seeing the “enormous reduction” in radiation.
Overall Satisfaction
With vastly improved diagnostics, optimized treatment planning, and improvements to their practices, all of the evaluators said they would recommend the i-CAT FLX. “There is an overall enthusiasm from my entire team as we all marvel at what we see,” shared Dr. Snyder.
