- Handbook on the Physics of Diagnostic Radiology, 2014 (IAEA)
- Radiological Protection in Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT), ICRP Publication 129, 2015 (ICRP)
- European Commission. European guidelines on radiation protection in dental radiology. The safe use of radiographs in dental practice, Radiation Protection 136 (2004)
- European Commission. Cone Beam CT for Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology. Evidence based guidelines, Radiation Protection 172 (2012)
- White, S. C., & Pharoah, M. J. (2009). Oral radiology: Principles and interpretation. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby/Elsevier. ISBN 9780323049832
- Langland O.E., Langlais R.P. (1997). Principles of Dental Imaging. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 9780683182415
- The Selection of Patients for Dental Radiographic Examinations, 2004 (ADA-FDA)
- Radiation protection in dentistry, 2005 (Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency)
- Radiation guideline 6, Office of Environment & Heritage, NSW Government, Australia
- Information about Cone Beam CT (CBCT) in dentistry
- Guidelines on CBCT, Sedentex (2011)
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Dental radiography
Introduction
Dental radiography is, typically, limited to four types of examinations including: 1) intraoral radiographs; 2) panoramic radiographs; 3) cephalometric radiographs; and 4) cone-beam CT imaging. Intraoral radiography results in the most dental radiographs and the highest radiation dose to the patient. Panoramic radiographs, a tomographic image of all of the teeth and jaw, result in a relatively low dose, with much lower volume of images being produced. Cephalometric images are primarily lateral radiographs of the head used for orthodontic measurement purposes. Cone-beam CT is used usually for treatment planning before placing dental implants.
Important Principles
Dental radiography is a relatively simple procedure. Intraoral x-ray generators usually have fixed kilovoltage (70 kVp) and tube current (on the order of 7 mA). Likewise, panoramic systems also use fixed techniques factors, including fixed exposure time.
Two speeds of film (D and F Speed) are available with the F-speed film reducing patient dose by a factor of two. Dentists should be encouraged to use the F-speed film since the image quality is the same as D-speed film and an F-speed film costs only a few cents more than a D-speed film.
Digital radiography is experiencing a growing acceptance in the dental community, with about 25% of the dental facilities in the U.S. using digital imaging in 2009.
Introduction to References
White and Pharoah provide an excellent background covering the physics of dental radiography as well as the basics of dental image interpretation. Several excellent quality control publications are provided in the Quality Control References.