Quality of digital panoramic radiography in a newly established dental school

Panoramic radiographs are known to be difficult to expose without errors. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the degree of success in taking error free digital panoramic radiographs. An experienced Oral and Maxillofacial Radiologist assessed the subjective image quality of 199 panoramic radiographs exposed in a newly established dental school in Kuwait. The number of errors according to an international "quality standard" in a panoramic radiograph was assessed. All radiographs were exposed by a dentist with minimal experience in taking panoramic radiographs. It was found that the number of errors in each radiograph ranged from 1 to 9 and no radiograph was completely free from errors. The average number of errors in the radiographs was 3.7. Hence, these results confirm that panoramic radiography is a difficult radiographic technique, which needs an experienced operator in order to get high quality radiographs. Both theoretical and practical training is recommended for radiology staff, as in Sweden, where dental staff should be properly trained to make exposures.