Dental Intra-oral Radiography: The Tricky Bits Exposed

Dental radiography is an essential component of undergraduate training. All newly registered dentists must have obtained the knowledge and skill to undertake intra-oral imaging and produce a good standard of dental panoramic tomograph (DPT) as an undergraduate. Subsequent working environments (from vocational trainee onwards) will have an influence on whether a dentist's skill in radiography is enhanced by frequent practice, maintained by a modest degree of practice or gradually lost as little or no practice of radiography is undertaken.

Achieving good quality radiographs is essential to aid in both diagnosis and treatment. Taking dental radiographs is usually a straightforward procedure; however, a few patients do offer a greater challenge to the dentist aiming to achieve diagnostic images. Ironically, it is frequently these tricky patients where a good quality radiograph will be of greatest use when treatment planning. This article has been written primarily to provide some tips aimed at increasing the likelihood of achieving a diagnostic image for a patient who finds the procedure difficult and includes some advice that can be applied to all patients having a dental radiograph taken.