DOSE REDUCTION OF 2 DIGITAL SENSOR SYSTEMS MEASURING FILE LENGTHS

Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of dose r eduction on the image quality of two sensor systems with automatic gre yscale adjustment. Study Design. Two digital sensor systems, Sidexis ( Siemens, Bensheim, Germany) and Digora (Soredex, Helsinki, Finland), w ere tested. The image quality of the systems was determined by compari ng lengths of endodontic files (025, 020, 015, and 010 files) and a pr emolar root in the digital images with lengths on conventional radiogr aphic films. For the experiments the exposure was changed to 100%, 50% , 25%, 12.5%, 6.25%, and 3.125% of that for Ektaspeed films. Results, The lengths of 025 and 020 files and the premolar root in the digital images were comparable with the lengths on films even if the exposure was reduced to 6% of that used for Ektaspeed films. The lengths of 015 files reduced as the exposure was reduced. The lengths of 010 files w ere significantly shorter than the lengths on films. Conclusions, With the systems tested, a dose reduction of approximately 95% compared wi th Ektaspeed films is possible to determine the lengths of a premolar root and 025 and 020 files. For thinner objects a dose reduction is qu estionable.