Head and neck effective dose and quantitative assessment of image quality: a study to compare cone beam CT and multislice spiral CT

Aim: To evaluate the effective dose and image quality of horizontal CBCT in comparison with multislice spiral CT (MSCT) in scans of the head, cervical spine, ear and dental arches. Conclusions: CBCT was preferable to MSCT for the ear and dental arches volumetric imaging due to its lower radiation dose and significantly higher spatial resolution. In the case of cervical spine and head imaging, MSCT should be generally recommended if a high contrast resolution is required, despite the greater radiation exposure.