Radiation Dose and Risk in Dental Panoramic Radiography: literature review

Naoual Elmorabit,Oum Keltoum Ennibi

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202131901031

Abstract

Aim: To review and search studies that evaluated the radiation doses and risks from dental panoramic radiography (DPR). This review may answer the following question “does panoramic dental radiation expose patients to health risks? Materiels and Methods: The search strategy was performed using the databases including GoogleScholar, PubMed, Science Direct and Nature from 2010 until september 2020. The search was limited to articles published in English. The 1031 titles that appeared, 15 fulfilled the criteria and were included in the review. Results: in 10 studies, the effective dose from DPRs was in the range of 5-49µSv, depending on the panoramic equipment used. The salivary glands received the highest absorbed doses (359-3044,3 μGy) and the thyroid gland absorbed doses were (40-250µGy). In terms of health risk, according to 5 studies, DPRs can induce genotoxic effects in oral epithelial cells and even induce cytotoxic effects leading to cell death. In 2 studies, women are at higher risk than men. The overall risk of cancer from radiation in children was more than adult. Conclusion: DPR can expose patient to health risks. It should only be applied when necessary, using radiation protection criteria.

Highlights

Dental panoramic radiography (DPR) - known as orhopantomography – is the extraoral technique the most often used in dentistry[1], [2]
1031 relevant articles were identified through the literature search, some of these studies did not involve radiation risk or dose from dental panoramic radiography (DPR)
This study examined fifteen papers on DPR exposure doses and health effects

Summary

Introduction

Dental panoramic radiography (DPR) - known as orhopantomography – is the extraoral technique the most often used in dentistry[1], [2]. X-rays act directly on the DNA molecule or indirectly through the formation of reactive compounds that interact with this molecule[6], [7]. It is a fundamental requirement of radiation protection that all exposures to x-rays as part of diagnosis should be clinically justified for each patient[8]. It is not justified to take DPR before a clinical examination, for all new patients and to screen asymptomatic patients[10]. A questionnaire study, found that 42% of dentists with panoramic x-ray equipment carried out routine panoramic radiography of all new adult patients[11]. A recent study indicates that approximately one fourth of the DPRs lacked an adequate referral[12]

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