Dose distributions in adult and child head phantoms for panoramic and cone beam computed tomography imaging of the temporomandibular joint.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to map and compare the distributions of absorbed doses with Gafchromic film for panoramic radiography and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) examinations of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) by using adult and child phantoms.

Study Design: Gafchromic films were placed at 5 selected levels of anthropomorphic head phantoms of an adult and a child. Clinical protocols for panoramic and CBCT imaging of the TMJ were used for three 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional dental x-ray units. Mean absorbed doses in a set of radiosensitive tissues within the oral and maxillofacial regions were estimated.

Results: The absorbed doses varied considerably among and within radiosensitive tissues. The bone surface and the salivary glands received the highest absorbed doses compared with other tissues, in both panoramic and CBCT examinations of the TMJ. The radiation burden to the adult phantom was generally higher than that to the child phantom. Small right and left fields of view were associated with lower amounts of radiation, in contrast to a single larger field of view.

Conclusions: The absorbed dose within all radiosensitive tissues varied considerably in relation to examination type, x-ray unit, clinical settings, and patient age. The mean doses were smaller when using 2 (bilateral) 4 × 4 cm volumes than with use of one 14 × 5 cm volume.