Compared to cone-beam CT, standard CT generally has higher radiation exposure.

• A. Standard CT generally has lower radiation exposure than cone-beam CT.
• B. Standard CT generally has the same radiation exposure as cone-beam CT.
• C. Compared to cone-beam CT, standard CT generally has higher radiation exposure.
• D. Cone-beam CT generally has higher radiation exposure than standard CT.

Answer: (C)

In dental imaging, the amount of radiation you receive depends on how the scanner captures the area of interest. Standard CT scans cover larger regions with higher resolution, which means more X-ray exposure is used across more slices. Cone-beam CT uses a cone-shaped beam focused on a smaller field of view and typically operates with lower exposure settings and shorter scan times. This combination generally results in a lower overall dose for the same diagnostic task. Therefore, compared to cone-beam CT, standard CT generally has higher radiation exposure. Dose can still vary with field of view, voxel size, and technique factors, but the typical pattern is higher dose for standard CT.