Establishment of diagnostic reference levels for dental panoramic radiography in Greece

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to present the national diagnostic reference levels (DRL) established for panoramic dental examinations in Greece. The establishment of DRL, as a tool for the optimisation of radiological procedures, is a requirement of national regulations. Measurements performed by the Greek Atomic Energy Commission on 90 panoramic systems have been used for the derivation of DRL values. DRL values have been proposed for exposure settings of different patient types (child, small adult and standard adult), both for film and digital imaging. The DRLs for different patient types are grouped in three categories: children, small adults (corresponding to female) and average adults (corresponding to male). Proposed DRLs for these groups are 2.2, 3.3 and 4.1 mGy, respectively. In order to investigate the correlation of DRLs with the available imaging modalities (CR, DR and film), this parameter was taken into account. DR imaging DRL is the lowest at 3.5 mGy, CR imaging the highest at 4.2 mGy and film imaging at 3.7 mGy. In order to facilitate comparison with other studies, kerma-width product values were calculated from Ki, air and field size.