HLTDEN008: Dental Radiographic Imaging Case Study Analysis

This case study examines the dental radiographic imaging process for a 10-year-old patient, Matthew, who experienced a fall. It details the role of the radiographer in gathering information, ensuring technical quality, and addressing patient compliance challenges, including the impact of macroglossia. The case explores the use of panoramic imaging, surgery details, and the aims of the imaging process in implant treatment planning and detecting pathological conditions. The study also highlights the need for improvements in positioning devices, digital imaging, and post-processing techniques to enhance diagnostic accuracy and patient care. The analysis references relevant literature on dental radiography, emphasizing the importance of quality assurance and technological advancements in the field.

Running Head: DENTAL RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGING
DENTAL RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGING
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1DENTAL RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGING
Relevant Information on Matthew’s Case
Mrs. Fraser’s 10 year old son Matthew had a fall in the school playground and had an
appointment awaiting. His front tooth were a bit loose which might be due to falling on the
playground. However, studies have shown that 96.7% of cavitated primary teeth in children
were left untreated1. At first when I saw them at the clinic I readily went up to them as
Matthew had been a regular patient in our hospital for the past seven years. He had an X-ray
previously for his eruption pattern. I was assigned the duty to collect all the relevant
information from Mrs. Fraser for the X-ray of Matthew. As a prescriber of the X-ray my role
is to report to the dentist or other health professional. My responsibility is to supply the
dentist with sufficient and relevant information so that the practitioner gets enough
knowledge to justify the dental examination and also gets to decide the optimum level of
exposure for the X-ray2.
Sufficient Information on the Case
As the information provided by Mrs. Fraser’s was not sufficient for the operator, I
tried to collect all the relevant information by talking to Matthew’s mother and she also told
me that his son’s previous treatment was a bit awkward due to Matthew’s enlarged tongue.
This additional information could be really helpful for the X-ray operator as the tongue
enlargement can be the reason for other comorbid conditions that Matthew might be facing.
Tongue enlargement is usually associated with lateral sclerosis patients and can be a problem
for the operator as he had to take special care while doing the X-ray3.
1Hu, Xuan, et al. "What happens to cavitated primary teeth over time? A 3.5‐year prospective
cohort study in C hina." International dental journal 63.4 (2013): 183-188.
2Brown, Jacqueline, et al. "Basic training requirements for the use of dental CBCT by
dentists: a position paper prepared by the European Academy of DentoMaxilloFacial
Radiology." Dentomaxillofacial Radiology 43.1 (2013): 20130291.
3McKee, Heather R., et al. "Macroglossia in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis." JAMA
neurology 70.11 (2013): 1432-1435.

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Technical Quality Assurance
Before diagnosis of Matthew’s present conditions his previous X-ray reports were
also considered so that the medical practitioner gets an idea about what his previous
conditions were and what can be the future diagnosis procedure. The quality of the previous
X-ray reports are also checked as the sub-standard quality will lead to the false interpretations
of the report leading to poor diagnosis4. After complete analysis of the report it was
determined that Matthew needs X-rays for the consideration of the damage caused by the fall.
Matthew’s Compliance with the Instructor
As Matthew was just 10 years old, it was difficult for him to correctly respond to all
the instructions given out by the operator. The operator had to continuously call him out for
various reasons as his positions were not correct while doing the X-ray imaging and he was
also continuously moving in head in different directions. Along with that the protruding
tongue was making it all together very difficult for the operator to conduct the imaging test.
Surgery Details
Now as per the diagnosis Matthew needed a surgery using dental radiographic
processes. The process is used to check the oral health care. The procedure uses radiation of
low levels to capture images at the interior of gum. Panoramic imaging is used for the
diagnosis of the curved surfaces inside the oral cavity as it gives a flat representation of the
same5. In case of Matthew’s this method is used to identify the impacted teeth and for the
position of dental implants. The major aims of the imaging process is to decide whether the
implant treatment is better for the patient or not. This will also help to detect any pathological
condition that are being faced by Matthew. The imaging process is helpful for three different
4Zennaro, Floriana, et al. "Digital radiology to improve the quality of care in countries with
limited resources: a feasibility study from Angola." PloS one 8.9 (2013): e73939.
5Shah, Naseem et al. “Recent advances in imaging technologies in dentistry.” World journal
of radiology vol. 6,10 (2014): 794-807. doi:10.4329/wjr.v6.i10.794

3DENTAL RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGING
phases of treatment such as during the pre-prosthetic implant surgery, at times of surgical and
implantation imaging and also during post-prosthetic implant surgery6.
Improvements Required in the Process
Many studies have shown that due to poor positioning the outcomes of the
radiography images were not very great. Thus, the first and foremost required improvement
in the area of dental radiography will be the use of a device that will help the doctors and
practitioners to position the radiograph better. Digital imaging also needs the use of written
records that are of better quality which helps the dental team to improve the communication
between them. The data from the patient can be collected in a data capture form. A well
designed structure will enable the operator to collect the correct sort of data7. The
conventional panoramic imaging can also be changed by the digital one which gives a
computerized and better processed images with optimum density and contrast. Recent studies
has demonstrated that post processing technique can be helpful in developing the diagnostic
quality at areas of high radiography which will lead to improvements in the accuracy of
dental abnormality diagnosis8. All these changes can be implemented in the present scenario
for further improvements in detecting the problem with Matthew’s which will also help to
smoothen the diagnosis for the patient.
6 Nagarajan, Aishwarya et al. “Diagnostic imaging for dental implant therapy.” Journal of
clinical imaging science vol. 4,Suppl 2 4. 27 Oct. 2014, doi:10.4103/2156-7514.143440
7Toy, Andrew, and Kenneth A. Eaton. "X-Ray Vision: How audit can help you reveal the
quality of your radiography." Primary dental journal 2.1 (2013): 32-39.
8Sabarudin, Akmal, and Yu Jin Tiau. "Image quality assessment in panoramic dental
radiography: a comparative study between conventional and digital systems." Quantitative
imaging in medicine and surgery 3.1 (2013): 43.

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Bibliography
Brown, Jacqueline, et al. "Basic training requirements for the use of dental CBCT by dentists:
a position paper prepared by the European Academy of DentoMaxilloFacial
Radiology." Dentomaxillofacial Radiology 43.1 (2013): 20130291.
Hu, Xuan, et al. "What happens to cavitated primary teeth over time? A 3.5‐year prospective
cohort study in C hina." International dental journal 63.4 (2013): 183-188.
McKee, Heather R., et al. "Macroglossia in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis." JAMA
neurology 70.11 (2013): 1432-1435.
Nagarajan, Aishwarya et al. “Diagnostic imaging for dental implant therapy.” Journal of
clinical imaging science vol. 4,Suppl 2 4. 27 Oct. 2014, doi:10.4103/2156-7514.143440
Sabarudin, Akmal, and Yu Jin Tiau. "Image quality assessment in panoramic dental
radiography: a comparative study between conventional and digital systems." Quantitative
imaging in medicine and surgery 3.1 (2013): 43.
Shah, Naseem et al. “Recent advances in imaging technologies in dentistry.” World journal
of radiology vol. 6,10 (2014): 794-807. doi:10.4329/wjr.v6.i10.794
Toy, Andrew, and Kenneth A. Eaton. "X-Ray Vision: How audit can help you reveal the
quality of your radiography." Primary dental journal 2.1 (2013): 32-39.
Zennaro, Floriana, et al. "Digital radiology to improve the quality of care in countries with
limited resources: a feasibility study from Angola." PloS one 8.9 (2013): e73939.