In vitro evaluation of the sensitivity of three dental radiographic films

Abstract

This research had the purpose of verifyingwhether the exposure time recommended by manufacturers is enough to produce goodquality images and also what the reduction limit is, in a way that the obtainment of good quality radiographs be possible.Three filmswith different sensitivities were used (speeds D, E, F): the Ultra-speed, Ektaspeed Plus and the Insight. A dry jaw and soft tis sue simulator were used and the film studied was the Ultra-speed with a 0,4 exposure time. The adopted methodology was the subjective analysis, performed by 10 dentists (5 radiologists and 5 general practitioners). The statistic tests Mann Whitney and Qui-Square were used to examine the data. The highest percentage of radiographs presenting the best images for diagnosis was obtained using the film Insight with a 0.24-second exposure time. Key words: X-ray, radiographicfiJms, sensitivity.