Dentomaxillofacial radiology in Australia and dentist satisfaction with radiology reports

Dental radiology reporting status and recording frequency of reporting items in Korea

Purpose

This study investigated the current dental radiology reporting methods and the recording rate of 10 mandatory reporting items in Korea.

Materials and Methods

An original online survey created using Google Forms was distributed to dental practitioners. The survey asked about the participants' age, experience, workplace, use of radiologic equipment, radiology reporting methods, and recording reporting items.

Results

In total, 354 responses were analyzed. Radiologic reporting in dental charts was the most commonly used method for each modality. Four out of 10 mandatory items were recorded at a high rate, but the remaining 6 items had substantially lower recording rates, often below 50%. The participants who reported radiographic findings through other separate methods had higher item scores than those who wrote findings in dental charts (P<0.05).

Conclusion

Radiologic societies and dental associations should encourage the use of separate reports for radiographic examinations. Education regarding radiology reports and the justification for reporting items should be reinforced in dental schools, training courses on radiology, and the continuing education curriculum.

[Use of diagnostic modalities for dentofacial imaging in forensic dentistry. Literature review]

Objective

To describe the use of diagnostic modalities for dentofacial imaging in forensic dentistry.

Materials and Methods

A scientific search was carried out in the PubMed, Google Academic, and SciELO databases with the keywords "Dentofacial Imaging", "Panoramic Radiography", "Lateral Cephalogram", "Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT)", "Digital Radiography", and "Forensic Dentistry". Forty-eight recently dated articles published in English were selected, seeking information to describe the use of diagnostic modalities pertaining to dentofacial imaging in forensic dentistry.

Results

The most relevant diagnostic modalities of dentofacial imaging for forensic dentistry include panoramic radiography, lateral skull radiography, posterior-anterior skull radiography and cone beam computed tomography.

Conclusions

The modalities described, together with morphometric analyses, allow forensic dentists to identify a corpse, estimate age, sex, and even facilitate forensic facial reconstruction for identification purposes.

Current trends in the adoption and education of cone beam computed tomography and panoramic radiography machines across Australia

OBJECTIVES

This is a follow-up study to assess growth in the number of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and panoramic radiography (PR) machines in Australia. It is also the first study to evaluate the current status of both CBCT and PR education in Australia.

METHODS

CBCT and PR machine numbers were obtained from the radiation regulators across Australia. Australian dental schools were surveyed via email. The number of machines relative to population size and the number of dentists were calculated.

RESULTS

In 2020, there were 706 CBCT machines and 3,059 PR machines, representing a 204.3% increase in the number of CBCT machines and an 82.0% increase in the number of PR machines over six years. Majority of Australian dental schools owned PR and CBCT machines. Most taught PR acquisition and interpretation, however only one-third taught CBCT image acquisition and interpretation to predoctoral students.

CONCLUSIONS

CBCT machine numbers increased by nearly three-fold while PR machines only increased by 1.6 times over a six-year period relative to population size and number of dentists. Only very few Australian dental schools provide CBCT education to predoctoral students, raising concern as to whether graduates are adequately trained upon program completion.