What is a typical dose from a dental radiological procedure?
Mean values from various national surveys are in the following ranges: i) 1-8 mGy in terms of entrance surface air kerma for intraoral radiography; ii) about 100 mGy.cm2 in terms of kerma-area product for panoramic radiography; and iii) 0.25-7 mGy in terms of entrance surface air kerma for cephalometric radiography [EC-RP 136], [UNSCEAR 2000]. Effective doses are: i) intraoral dental X ray imaging procedure 1–8 μSv; ii) panoramic examination 4-30 μSv; and iii) cephalometric examinations 2-3 μSv. Thus the doses from intraoral and cephalometric dental radiological procedures are lower, usually less than one day of natural background radiation. Doses for panoramic procedures are more variable, but even at the high end of the range are equivalent to a few days of natural background radiation which is similar to that of a chest radiograph [EC-RP 136].
