A comparative study of image quality and radiation exposure for dental radiographs produced using a charge-coupled device and a phosphor plate system.

Aim: To investigate the quality of periapical radiographic images produced by two digital dental radiography systems, a charge-coupled device (CCD) and a photostimulable phosphor (PSP) image plate system, and to examine the overall radiation exposure when using these systems in a clinical setting.

Methodology: Patients were randomly allocated to both systems and the resultant radiographs rated for quality. The expected radiation exposure for an investigation was calculated.

Results: Overall, 98 images were acquired using the CCD system and 108 with the PSP system. The PSP system produced significantly higher quality (P < 0.001) periapical images compared with the CCD system. The CCD system required significantly more (P < 0.001) repeat exposures to obtain a diagnostic image than the PSP system but at a lower expected radiation exposure.

Conclusions: The image quality was superior using the phosphor plate system. Although more repeat radiographs were required using the CCD system, the images were produced with a lower expected radiation exposure.