Radiation dose reduction using novel size 1 and size 0 rectangular collimators in pediatric dental imaging.

Area of Science:

• Dental Radiology
• Radiation Protection in Pediatrics

Background:

• International guidelines advocate for matching X-ray beam size to image receptor size in adult radiography.
• Pediatric intraoral radiography utilizes smaller image receptors (sizes 1 and 0), presenting an opportunity for further beam collimation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and evaluate the efficacy of custom-made size 1 and 0 rectangular collimators for pediatric intraoral radiography.
• To quantify the radiation dose reduction achieved with these novel collimators.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of size 1 and 0 rectangular collimators using lead sheets, adapted to a standard dental X-ray attachment.
• Measurement of dose area product (DAP) to assess radiation dose changes with different collimator sizes.

Main Results:

• Evaluated DAP for conventional round collimation (31.7 cm2), a size 2 rectangular collimator (12.0 cm2), and custom size 1 (8.25 cm2) and size 0 (5.72 cm2) collimators.
• The size 1 collimator demonstrated a 32% DAP reduction compared to size 2, while the size 0 collimator achieved a 53% reduction.

Conclusions:

• Custom-manufactured size 1 and 0 rectangular collimators are feasible for pediatric intraoral imaging.
• Significant radiation dose reduction is achievable in pediatric dental X-rays using matched collimation, offering potential long-term health benefits due to the vulnerability of children to radiation.