Objectives: This study compares 2 measures of effective dose, E(1990) and E(2007), for 8 dentoalveolar and maxillofacial cone-beam computerized tomography (CBCT) units and a 64-slice multidetector CT (MDCT) unit.
Study design: Average tissue-absorbed dose, equivalent dose, and effective dose were calculated using thermoluminescent dosimeter chips in a radiation analog dosimetry phantom. Effective doses were derived using 1990 and the superseding 2007 International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommendations.
Results: Large-field of view (FOV) CBCT E(2007) ranged from 68 to 1,073 microSv. Medium-FOV CBCT E(2007) ranged from 69 to 560 microSv, whereas a similar-FOV MDCT produced 860 microSv. The E(2007) calculations were 23% to 224% greater than E(1990).
Conclusions: The 2007 recommendations of the ICRP, which include salivary glands, extrathoracic region, and oral mucosa in the calculation of effective dose, result in an upward reassessment of fatal cancer risk from oral and maxillofacial radiographic examinations. Dental CBCT can be recommended as a dose-sparing technique in comparison with alternative medical CT scans for common oral and maxillofacial radiographic imaging tasks.