Radiation absorbed in maxillofacial imaging with a new dental computed tomography device.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this investigation was to measure the tissue-absorbed dose and to calculate the effective dose for the NewTom 9000, a new generation of computed tomographic devices designed specifically for dental applications. Comparisons are made with existing reports on dose measurement and effective dose estimates for panoramic examinations and other computed tomographic imaging modalities for dental implants. STUDY DESIGN: Thermoluminescent dosimeters were implanted in a tissue-equivalent humanoid phantom at anatomic sites of interest. Absorbed dose measurements were obtained after single and double exposures. The averaged tissue-absorbed doses were used for the calculation of the whole-body effective dose. RESULTS: The effective dose for imaging of maxillomandibular volume with a NewTom 9000 machine is 50.3 muSv. CONCLUSION: The effective dose with the NewTom 9000 machine is significantly less than that achieved with other computed tomographic imaging methods and is within the range of traditional dental imaging modalities.