Accuracy in positioning of dental X-ray images - A comparative study of a portable X-ray device and a wall-mounted device
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Published on: May 30, 2019
Julian Lommen1, Lara Schorn1, Julia Nitschke2
1Department of Oral-, Maxillo- and Plastic Facial Surgery, Heinrich-Heine-University, Moorenstraße 5, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany.
Introduction:
The benefits of portable dental X-ray devices remain controversially debated. This study aimed to compare the accuracy in positioning dental X-ray images using handheld (Nomad Pro 2) and wall-mounted (Heliodent Plus) X-ray devices.
Materials And Methods:
Radiographical imaging was exercised on a maxillofacial phantom using the handheld dental X-ray device Nomad Pro 2 (Kavo Kerr, Biberach, Germany) and the wall-mounted dental X-ray device Heliodent Plus (Sirona Dental Systems, Bensheim, Germany). Accuracy of device positioning (i.e., centeredness and perpendicularity) was measured as horizontal and vertical deviation (pixels and millimeters) from a centrally positioned crosshair. The reproducibility of the results was tested for 80 images per device and operator. IBM SPSS (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) was used for statistical analyses.
Results:
Centeredness of produced dental X-rays was significantly better for the wall-mounted device than for the handheld device in both deviation from the x-axis (p = 0.042) and y-axis (p = 0.020). The perpendicularity of the produced dental X-rays was significantly better for the handheld device than for the wall-mounted device for both horizontal (p < 0.001) and vertical (p < 0.001) plains.
Conclusions:
Handheld dental X-ray devices appear to provide a high degree of accuracy in image positioning, especially in regard to proper perpendicular image angulation.
