Evaluation of drying time and densitometric analysis of two kinds of intraoral radiographic films submitted to an alcohol wash

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the action of the ethyl alcohol in the drying time of intraoral radiographs and the alterations caused by this subs- tance in their optical density. The two main groups of this research were composed by two kinds of periapical radiographic films, with group E (Kodak and Agfa) sensiti- vity. Each group was divided into two secondary groups, differing in time of final wash. Each secondary group was subdivided into five sub- groups, which were distinguished regarding the treatment in 92,8º ethyl alcohol. To verify whether the alcohol altered the drying time or not, each group of radiographs had it timed . After that, the films were submitted to a densitometric analysis at three different times: 1, 6 and 12 months after the experi- ment. It could be noticed that the groups, whose last processing stage was a wash in alcohol, had the smal- lest drying time independent on the kind of film or the final washing time. However, the radiographs which were submitted to a wash in alcohol, in some phase of the experiment, showed densitometric alterations that might result in a reduction of their storage time. Key words: processing, ethyl alcohol, densitometry.