Multimodal radiography: a new imaging technique and system for oral diagnosis.

The multimodal radiography system is based on the combined use of narrow-beam radiography and spiral tomography in one set of equipment. The essentials of a system are a multifunction unit, preprogrammed imaging procedures for various dentomaxillofacial objects and a co-ordinate system for object location. Four years of clinical experience have shown that multimodal radiography is effective for depicting dentomaxillofacial structures for diagnostic purposes. The detailed narrow beam imaging mode of multimodal radiography has also been compared with intraoral radiography as regards their abilities to reveal periodontal and periapical lesions. Preliminary results indicate that detailed narrow beam radiography is more accurate than intraoral radiography in the diagnosis of periodontal and periapical pathology.