[Oradlist] retakes of digital images

[Berkhout, WER.]

Hello Dr. Matteson,

The two studies mentioned below indeed conclude that the number of radiographs rises when using digital radiography.
The two main reasons are:
-positioning difficulty of (mainly) solid-state sensors causing retakes because of incorrect initial placement of the sensor  
-the threshold of taking a digital radiograph is lower because it's done 'in a split second'. No waiting time during film processing is disturbing the clinic schedule anymore. 
So digital radiographs and digital retakes are taken much more readily than their film predecessors.

In our dental school environment (ACTA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) we run the Emago software. The software is adjusted that only staff of the radiology department can remove radiogrpahs from the database, so we can track excessive numbers of 'takes' and retakes 

Does digital radiography increase the number of intraoral radiographs? A questionnaire study of Dutch dental practices.
Berkhout WER, Sanderink GCH, Van der Stelt PF.
Dentomaxillofac Radiol. 2003 Mar;32(2):124-7.

Patient discomfort and retakes in periapical examination of mandibular third molars using digital receptors and film.
Matzen LH, Christensen J, Wenzel A.
Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 2009 Apr;107(4):566-72


Best regards,

Erwin Berkhout, DDS, PhD
Dept. Oral Radiology
Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA)
Louwesweg 1
1066 EA Amsterdam
+31-20-5188351
e.berkhout at acta.nl

-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: oradlist-bounces at lists.ucla.edu namens Matteson, Stephen R
Verzonden: za 24-4-2010 20:51
Aan: Oral Radiology Discussion Group
Onderwerp: [Oradlist] retakes of digital images
 
Hello all; just a question about the issue of retakes of digital images.

I had a digital panormatic image of myself at a recent dental appointment and the operator did two retakes for reasons unclear to me.  I do not know if my dentist knew about the retakes.

A friend of mine had a digital full mouth series done at his dentist and noticed, and that the operator took 20 or so images to get the 14 they wanted.  The retakes were just deleted by the operator.  He does not know if the dentist knew about all the retakes.

So, a senior guy like me who spent considerable time dealing with retakes of films by students, wonders if the software in the digital imaging systems authomatically collects the retakes for use in a quality control process for feedback to operators, and for documentation of the actual radiation dose to the patient to be recorded in the patient records; and maybe generates a retake log?

Just curious.

Steve Matteson
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