Taking dental radiographs can effectively show the patient's oral conditions, allowing doctors to more clearly observe the information in the patient's oral cavity. To provide the basis for the doctor's diagnosis analysis and treatment methods, so the effect of dental radiographs is very important. If you want to take good dental radiographs, It’s advised to pay attention to the following things.

Preparation before shooting

Communicate with the patient about the shooting process, so as to obtain the good cooperation of the patient, wear protective clothing and wait for the shooting.

 

 

1. Patient positioning

The patient should preferably be seated in a vertical sagittal plane (Figure a)

The maxillofacial or incisal edge of the irradiated tooth is parallel to the ground

Radiograph of the maxilla: the nose-ear parallel plane must remain level (Fig. b)

Radiograph of the mandible: the occlusal plane must remain level (Fig. c) 

 

 

It is very important that the patient's head is fixed when shooting. The patient should hold their breath temporarily, and the chin should be stable and not shaking. It is best that the external auditory canal on both sides and the ear headrest should be stable and not displaced. This will ensure stability when shooting.

 

Note: The height of the chair should be adjusted according to the height of the patient, so that the corner of the patient's mouth is flush with the doctor's armpit, which is convenient for the doctor's operation. 

 

2. Shooting Angle 

 

Put the sensor into the patient's mouth. Please take by traditional apical radiography technique.

The patient's position, horizontal angle and X-ray centerline should be the same as those of traditional apical radiography. But regarding choosing a vertical angle, as the sensor is hard and cannot be bent, it is not easy to get close to the teeth and the jaw (tongue) , so please choose a corrected vertical angle for photography.

 

Table 1 shows the comparison of projection angles between digital dental radiographs and traditional dental radiographs. (+: foot side tilt, -: head side tilt)

 

 

The detailed steps are as follows:

 

 

This display picture is for reference only for angle shooting , and protective clothing is required for actual shooting. 

 

Note: When taking the upper teeth, the straight arm can be pulled down to about 150° from the horizontal, and the lower teeth are about 190°. This angle is for reference only and is subject to actual needs.

 

3. Exposure Time

Take the exposure time taken by the Runyes high-frequency X-ray machine as an example.

 

 

4. Evaluation Method

(1) The various structures of the digital dental image are clearly displayed as the best exposure;

(2) The examined tooth is located in the center of the image;

(3) The correct vertical angle, that is, the length of the teeth is similar to the actual length;

(4) The correct horizontal angle, that is, the adjacent surfaces of the teeth do not overlap;

(5) The correct X-ray center position, that is, the X-ray center line passes through the middle of the examined tooth root and does not overlap with other structures.