Errors in the periapical radiographic technique

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the implementation of the periapical radiographic technique, when performed by dental students, whilst using a digital sensor and a phosphor imaging plate as image receptors, instead of radiographic film. Materials and Method: Thirty (30) dentistry students in their fourth year were randomly selected for the execution of a full mouth periapical examination of the mandible and the maxilla, when performed on a mannequin. Result: There was a greater frequency of radiographic technique errors with the use of the sensor than with the phosphor plate. Among the errors observed, the highest frequency was the absence of a safety margin for the sensor (35.7%), while for the phosphor plate, it was an overlapping of the proximal faces (23.1%). When using both of the systems, the region of the lower right premolars presented the highest percentage of errors. With the use of the phosphor plate, 7.61% of the images were repeated, with a maximum of 2 replicates in 4 radiographs. While with the sensor, 38.57% needed to be repeated and 4 of these were repeated 9 times. McNemar test revealed statistically significant differences for the errors of a poor centering, an excessive safety margin and a non-parallel safety margin, between the images taken with the phosphor plate and with the sensor. Conclusion:The greatest number of errors and repetitions occurred with the use of the digital sensor. This has emphasized the need for a greater training of the dentistry students with these systems, in order to reduce the radiation exposures and to protect the patients.

Analysis of Artifacts and Errors on Intraoral Phosphor Plate Radiographs: A Retrospective Study

“…The radiographic examination has become an indispensable component of diagnostic imaging as it provides valuable information for evaluating the jaws, teeth, and pathologies, and planning dental treatment. One of the frequently used techniques in dentistry is digital periapical radiography [3,11].…”

“…Artifacts and errors are situations that can lead to incorrect and incomplete diagnosis on radiographs [3,9]. Under the circumstances, dentists, students, and X-ray technicians need to be aware of the types of artifacts, understand their causes, recognize their impact on the diagnostic ability of the images, and know how to prevent these artifacts [10,11].…”