Abstract

NIEMANN, I et al. Assessment of dose-width products of pre-programmed exposure technique parameters in panoramic dental radiology: A comparison of methodologies. S. Afr. dent. j. [online]. 2015, vol.70, n.6, pp.242-245. ISSN 0375-1562.

The dose width product (DWP) at the receiving slit of a panoramic dental unit is indicative of the radiation dose a patient receives in a panoramic dental examination. It is a useful tool for assessing the pre-programmed exposure technique settings of a dental unit. Panoramic units are equipped with these parameters, but the radiation doses delivered to patients when these programs are activated are not well defined. This study assesses DWPs of pre-programmed exposure technique parameters at the receiving slit of a panoramic unit, using Gafchromic XRQA2 film which progressively darkens when exposed to radiation, and a pencil ionization chamber, which gives a direct readout of the DWP when an exposure is initiated. The exposed film is scanned into a desktop computer and the extent of colour change analysed with a free Java image processing program. The maximum percentage difference between the two methods for DWP estimation was less than 13%, consequently, Gafchromic XRQA2 film is regarded as suitable for DWP assessment in panoramic dental procedures. Although the DWPs of some of these exposure technique charts exceeded the recommended diagnostic reference level (DRL) of 65m Gymm; they were similar to published data from other researchers.

Keywords : Panoramic dental unit; exposure techniques; Gafchromic XRQA2 film; diagnostic reference level; radiation doses.

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