An Audit; Evaluation of patient positioning and preparation errors on panoramic radiographs at The University of The West Indies Dental School, Trinidad

ABSTRACT

Objective: To evaluate the frequency of common operator errors seen on panoramic radiographs in the UWI Dental School in Trinidad and Tobago. Design and Methods: Previously published and established error categories were used to assess 400 panoramic radiographs. Each positioning error and its resultant identifying features on the panoramic radiographs were assessed. Microsoft Office Excel 2007 was used as the primary tool to record the presence or absence of each error on the radiograph. Results: 400 panoramic radiographs were analyzed at the University of the West Indies, School of Dentistry. Out of the 400 panoramic radiographs, 40.5% showed no preparation or positioning errors according to the 8 criteria. The most common error observed was where the patient's chin was tipped too low (21%), followed by rotation of the head (12.50%). The least frequent error observed was where the patient's head was positioned too far forward (0.50%). Conclusions: The high frequency of errors revealed in this research project highlight the need for additional training in panoramic radiography technique to increase the diagnostic yield of this imaging modality at the institution. However compared to the last audit conducted in Trinidad and Tobago, there has been a reduction in the number of radiographs showing multiple errors which can be attributed to increased awareness and training of operators since its publication.