Advances in Dental Imaging

Abstract

The number of dental radiographs taken in the UK has steadily increased over the past 20 years—recently estimating around 18 million taken in the general dental services alone, and dental radiographs now account for nearly 25% of all medical radiographic exposures.¹

Radiographs remain our most useful diagnostic aid. Their strength is in demonstrating hard tissue pathology, which makes radiographs particularly effective in the maxillofacial region. Although well accepted in this capacity, there remain a number of limitations and drawbacks to conventional radiographs which recent developments have begun to overcome. There have been improvements in the scope and capabilities of dental imaging equipment. There has also been a continuing effort to reduce radiation-induced harm by limiting our exposure to it. This has been possible both through the introduction of new methods and protocols for reducing individual radiation exposures and by the creation of guidelines for selecting radiographs more effectively and thereby reducing the total number of radiographs taken.