Teaching radiographic localization in dental schools in the United States and Canada

Although radiographic localization is an essential element of the practices of radiography and radiology, its incorporation into the dental curriculum has not previously been studied. This project surveyed dental schools in the United States and Canada on the relative amount of time that was given to instruction in various localization techniques and instructor opinion of the adequacy of training in localization skills. Ninety-eight percent of all dental schools returned questionnaires. Respondents who felt that teaching time was inadequate had mean rank time scores that were 40% less for total localization instruction and 57% less for teaching anatomic clues of the Buccal Object Rule than those who felt that teaching time was adequate. Because the Buccal Object Rule, cues, and cues represent the definitive dose-reducing approach to radiographic localization and because the Buccal Object Rule is readily applied across a broad range of clinical disciplines and activities, we recommend that this concept be incorporated into the curricula of all dental schools.