Diagnostic reference levels for panoramic and lateral cephalometric radiography of Korean children

Pediatric patients are considered to be more radiosensitive than adults; thus, radiation dose evaluations based on radiologic examinations are particularly important in this population. However, no national diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) are available for pediatric patients in the Republic of Korea. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the usage of panoramic and cephalometric radiography under the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme and to investigate the current DRLs for child panoramic and lateral cephalometric radiography using dose area product (DAP). DAP values were obtained for standard child exposure settings used routinely by dentists. Analysis was performed on data obtained from 28 panoramic and 20 cephalometric x-ray units for the DAP investigation. DRLs for child panoramic and cephalometric radiography were found to be 95.9 mGy cm and 121.3 mGy cm, respectively. These DRLs are higher than those recommended in the UK and Germany, which indicates that further effort is required to reduce pediatric doses in the Republic of Korea.