Patient discomfort in bitewing examination with film and four digital receptors

The aim was to compare patient discomfort during bitewing examination using five intra-oral receptors: a conventional film, a storage phosphor plate with a new soft cover, an already manufactured and sold sensor with a wire and two square and two rounded corners, a new version of a previously developed sensor with a wire and four square corners, and a newly developed sensor with a wire and four rounded corners. 60 patients participated in the study. The five receptors [a Kodak paper pack film (Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY), a DIGORA® Optime phosphor plate (Soredex, Tuusula, Finland), and SuniRay (Suni Medical Imaging, Inc., San Jose, CA), DIGORA Toto (Soredex) and Snapshot (Instrumentarium Dental, Tuusula, Finland) complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors] with differences in ergonomic shape were placed in the mouth for a bitewing examination for approximately 10 s. The patients rated their discomfort on a 100 mm visual analogue scale after having had each receptor positioned. There was no significant difference in patient discomfort score between the conventional film and the Snapshot sensor (p > 0.05). Both conventional film and Snapshot were significantly less uncomfortable than the other receptors (p < 0.05). No significant difference was seen between the storage phosphor plate and the SuniRay sensor (p > 0.05). The storage phosphor plate was significantly less uncomfortable than the DIGORA Toto sensor (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the perception of discomfort between the conventional film and an ergonomically shaped wired sensor with rounded corners.