Evaluation of radiation-induced cancer risk to patients undergoing intra-oral and panoramic dental radiographies using experimental measurements and Monte Carlo calculations

Background: Radiation doses associated with the conventional dental radiographies are relatively low, but their number is high. Therefore, justification is necessary to ensure that radiation doses to patients, particularly children, are kept as low as reasonably achievable. Materials and Methods: The exposure factors applied for real patients in four age groups (5, 10, 15-year-old and adult) were obtained for conventional dental radiographies, periapical, bitewing, and panoramic. The dose-area product (DAP) values were measured for every dental radiographies. The risk of exposure-induced cancer death (REID) was estimated for every dental radiographies in different age groups and in both genders. Results: The range of the REID values in periapical radiography were 1.3 to 20.9 per ten million for male patients, and 1.6 to 28.3 per ten million for female patients in different age groups. The range of REID values in bitewing radiography were 1.5 to 11.2 per ten million for male, and 1.9 to 13.2, per ten million for female in different age groups. The mean of REID values in panoramic radiography were 7.32, 4.70, 3.55, and 2.1 per ten million for male patients in 5-, 10-, and 15-year-old and adult age groups, respectively, and were 9.43, 5.86, 4.25 and 2.41 per ten million for female patients in 5, 10, 15-year-old and adult age groups, respectively. Conclusion: In accordance with the results of the present study, the overall risk of cancer from radiation in children was more than adult and in female patients is more than male patients in dental X-ray examinations.