Hygiene implications associated with x-ray exposures to dental patients

An elastic mask worn by patients, then a skeleton encased in plastic, was instrumented with LIF thermoluminescent dosimeters to quantify exposures delivered from full-face diagnostic dental x-rays. Locations of interest included skin surface, eyes, upper and lower teeth and thyroid. Exposures in the 100 mR range were common and a maximum of over 6000 mR was measured in the teeth region during a full-face examination with a periapical unit. In general, exposures received from periapical equipment were several times those obtained from panoramic devices.