Radiology and radiography

Abstract

Abstract When you consider that, with direct vision alone, you can only see the coronal few millimetres of teeth and none of the surrounding alveolus, it becomes clear that, without additional visual aids, we can only assess and treat a relatively small proportion of our patient’s oral health needs. In 1895, only months after the very first medical radiograph, Dr Otto Walkhoff recorded the very first dental radiograph. This exposure was of his own dentition and lasted a lengthy 25 minutes. Since then, radiography has become a staple tool of the profession and refinement of the technology has allowed us to reduce exposure times down to milliseconds, with radiation doses smaller than those ex­perienced by people taking short- haul flights. Further advances in dose reduction and reformatting protocols have allowed for computed tom­ography to become increasingly popular for diagnostics and treatment planning in endodontic, oral surgery, and orthodontic cases. The benefits of dental radiography make them an indispensable resource, but since all types of radiation pose some degree of risk to human health, the clinician must consider how useful the information from the proposed exposure will be. There are no shortages of tragic stories of employees working with radiation who suffered ill health years after stopping work. Today dental radiography can be performed routinely and safely as a result of the valuable lesson learnt from the debilitating consequences suffered by past medical professionals, nuclear workers, and even the ‘radium girls’ who painted luminous material onto watch faces. Key topics include: ● Limitations of radiographs ● Image selection criteria ● Radiation physics, protection, and legislation ● Radiographic interpretation ● Types of dental radiographic imagery.