Evaluation of error types and quality on panoramic radiography

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence ofpanoramic radiographic errors and to evaluate the correlation betweenage and panoramic radiographic error types.Methodology: A total of 500 panoramic radiographs (259 male, 241female) which had been taken for various reasons were randomly selectedfrom the archive of our dentomaxillofacial radiology department.Patients were divided into six age groups and by sex. The assessed errorsincluded the tongue not in contact with the palate, slumped position,patients not biting on bite block, patient movement, the chin tipped high,the chin tipped low, the patient positioned forward, the patientpositioned backward, patient’s head turned to one side, foreign bodies inthe image, exposure errors, positioning error of the lips and missingimage. The quality of each radiograph was rated as excellent,diagnostically acceptable or unacceptable.Results: One or more errors were detected in 317 (63.4%) of the 500panoramic radiographs, while no error was found in 183 (36.6%) of theimages. It was observed that the most common error type was theslumped position (13.2%). All of the panoramic radiographs wereevaluated according to the quality criteria: only 15% of the images wereclassified as “excellent”, 48.2% were rated “inadequate for diagnosis”and 36.8% were graded “adequate for diagnosis”. It was recorded that“slumped position” and “patient movement” errors were statisticallysignificant in >56 years (p