Energy imparted from intraoral radiography

Area of Science:

• Radiological Physics
• Dental Imaging
• Radiation Dosimetry

Background:

• Dental radiography equipment in Sweden has been standardized by the Swedish National Institute for Radiation Protection.
• Understanding radiation dose from intraoral dental radiography is crucial for patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally determine the energy imparted to a phantom during a full survey of 20 intraoral films and a single bitewing projection.
• To compare energy imparted using standardized techniques with both circular and rectangular collimators.
• To assess the impact of film speed on energy imparted.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an Alderson-phantom with embedded thermoluminescence dosimeters to measure absorbed doses.
• Irradiated the phantom using standardized dental radiography equipment (65 kVp) with circular and rectangular collimators (0.2 m FSD).
• Calculated energy imparted from integrated absorbed doses and published depth dose data, using exposure times for D-speed film.

Main Results:

• Energy imparted for a full survey was 9.6 mJ (circular collimator) and 5.9 mJ (rectangular collimator).
• Energy imparted for a single bitewing exposure was 0.42 mJ (circular collimator) and 0.29 mJ (rectangular collimator).
• Energy imparted from a full survey with a rectangular collimator and D-speed film approximates two weeks of environmental irradiation.

Conclusions:

• Standardized dental radiography techniques result in low energy imparted to patients.
• Using faster film speeds (E-speed) can reduce energy imparted by 40% without compromising diagnostic information.
• Rectangular collimators are more energy-efficient than circular collimators in intraoral dental radiography.