Why MRI in dentistry?

ddMRI offers complementary diagnostics with soft tissue visibility, enabling precise findings. It enables early detection by identifying inflammation and early stages of disease. The system uses non-ionizing radiation, making it suitable for regular preventive screenings and follow-up scans. It can improve the speed of diagnosis, reduce patient waiting times and enhance point-of-care efficiency.

Benefits of ddMRI 

Scan protocols:

Dental-dedicated scan protocols and coil

Patient experience:

Convenient patient experience and fast scan times1

Focus:

Automated focus to dental anatomy

Flexibility:

Independence from radiology departments and centers

Intuitive interface:

Intelligent and guided user interface, minimal user interaction with system or protocols

Expanding your imaging ecosystem beyond hard tissue 

Non-ionizing soft tissue imaging for advanced diagnostics 

Visualize hard and soft tissues in a single scan without radiation. ddMRI complements CBCT and X-ray by revealing hidden biological changes, enhancing treatment planning and patient safety.

Scientific publication highlights

Discover key publications demonstrating how ddMRI complements existing imaging modalities with high soft tissue contrast and non-ionizing radiation, supporting modern, patient-centered diagnostics.

MAGNETOM Free.Max Dental Edition2

The first dental-dedicated MRI scanner

 

MAGNETOM Free.Max Dental Edition breaks barriers by bringing diagnostic imaging power of MRI into dentistry. As the world’s first dental-dedicated MRI, MAGNETOM Free.Max Dental Edition empowers you with a new dimension of imaging and field strength to make the invisible visible, opening up new possibilities in dental imaging for diagnostic confidence in corrective and preventive care.
Dental-dedicated coil 

A dental-dedicated coil provides a high level of the detectable imaging signal in the anatomical regions relevant for dental use and features an open flexible design for excellent balance between image quality und patient comfort.
Dental-dedicated software 

The ddMRI software leverages artificial intelligence and the recognition of landmarks to automatically focus and align the field of view to relevant dentomaxillofacial  structures, which simplifies system operation.
Dental-dedicated scan protocols 

An automated dental-dedicated MRI workflow to make MRI scanning easy and more comparable to running a CBCT. 
The full workflow, including setup, scan and cleaning time will take 20 mins or less for all relevant clinical indications².
Reduced siting requirements 

The scanner’s compact size and height of < 2 m means it can easily fit through doorways and be accommodated in a room of just 24 m², while its low weight of less than 3.2 t opens the possibility for siting on higher floors. The system’s sealed-for-life DryCool technology eliminates the need for a quench pipe and the major construction work required to integrate it, therefore reducing installation costs and minimizing infrastructure restrictions.
Radiation-free imaging 

Non-ionizing radiation can allow for regular preventive screening, serial monitoring of disease progression or imaging of children.

Unlocking advanced diagnostics for soft tissue, nerves, and pathology

With ddMRI, clinicians can see beyond the bone—nerves, soft tissue, cartilage, and pathology come into focus with clarity and safety, thanks to non-ionizing radiation. 

ddMRI can be a game-changing addition to the diagnostic toolbox, offering insights for treatment planning across the initial applications of periodontitis, endodontics, TMJ, tooth extraction and orthodontics

Initial indications of ddMRI

 

Clinical research has shown great potential of ddMRI in the following indications:  

Inflammation

CBCT - no information on lesion status

ddMRI - Visualizing the active inflammation
(left: General oral health protocol | right: Inflammation protocol)

Tooth extraction

CBCT - High-resoultion visualization of the 3rd molar position. Information gap on critical soft tissue.

ddMRI - Visualizing the lingual nerve with respect to the 3rd molar

TMJ

CBCT - High-res visualization of relevant bone structure

ddMRI - Visualization of all relevant anatomic structures with excellent image quality, emphasizing both the hard and soft tissues of the TMJ area

Periodontics

ddMRI - proper depiction of the periodontal structures, allied to information about bone levels and presence of oedema within the bone

Orthodontics

ddMRI - clear depiction of cephalometric points, airways, and relevant bone structures

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Frequently asked questions

ddMRI stands for dental-dedicated Magnetic Resonance Imaging. It uses specialized MRI hardware, software, and scanning workflows designed specifically for dental clinics and dental needs.

It helps dentists and physicians link oral health and overall health effectively. New imaging methods like ddMRI can detect early signs of disease and inflammation that were harder to spot before.

Conventional dental imaging doesn’t show soft tissues and related conditions very well. As a result, dentistry has mostly focused on treating problems after they appear.

ddMRI changes this by making the invisible visible — enabling earlier detection and preventive care:

  • Spot early signs of inflammation
  • Detect oral diseases in early stages
  • Support research linking oral and general health (e.g., diabetes and gum disease)
  • Enable regular preventive screenings
  • Allow safe, radiation-free follow-ups (great for children and teens)
  • Monitor critical structures, such as implants, to catch issues early 

Yes. A key advantage of MRI is that it does not use ionizing radiation. Even the most modern CBCT systems use some radiation, but MRI avoids it completely. This is especially valuable for children and for patients who need repeated scans.

 
  • Scans designed specifically for dental needs
  • Comfortable patient experience and quick scan times
  • Automatic focus on dental anatomy
  • Can be used independently within the dental clinic — no need to send patients to radiology centers
  • Smart, dental-specific software with easy-to-use, guided workflows

ddMRI combines several innovations that make MRI practical for everyday dental care:

  • It uses MAGNETOM Free.Max, which has an optimal 0.55T field strength and no need for a quench pipe — making installation easier.
  • It includes a special dental coil, software, and scanning workflows designed for dental clinics.
  • These customizations make MRI more accessible and usable for dentists and dental teams — meeting needs that standard MRI was never designed to address.

Scientific downloads

Scientific Publication Overview
Dental-dedicated MRI (ddMRI)
406 KB
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White Paper
The Journey to Dental- Dedicated Magnetic Resonance Imaging
3 MB
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1 Greiser et al. (2023): Dental-dedicated MRI, a novel approach for dentomaxillofacial diagnostic imaging: technical specifi cations and feasibility, in: Dentomaxillofacial Radiology, 2023, 00, 1-12.
2 The product mentioned here is not commercially available in all countries. Due to regulatory reasons their future availability cannot be guaranteed. Please contact your local sales representative for more information.