A cephalometric appraisal of xeroradiography

The literature on the physics, the radiation hazard, and the current medicodental applications of xeroradiography is reviewed. A study is presented on estimating the effect of a xeroradiographic technique on the degree of inter- and intraobserver error in cephalometric landmark identification, as compared to a radiographic technique. This study involved identification by four observers of sixteen cephalometric landmarks on twelve xeroradiographs and twelve radiographs, on two separate occasions. The conclusions are that neither technique provided a significant reduction in interobserver differences. However, for eight of the thirty-two variables (nasion's Y axis, portion's X and Y axes, basion's X axis, Bolton point's X axis, anterior nasal spine's X axis, menton's Y axis, and the tip of the nose's X axis), as opposed to two (basion's Y axis and gonion's Y axis), xeroradiography produced a significant reduction in intraobserver error in comparison to radiography.