Investigating General Dentists' Viewpoint Regarding Prescription of Panoramic Radiography in Yazd in 2012

As X-Ray utilizing is increasing for diagnostic purposes, it is essential that dentists possess adequate knowledge about prescribing radiographs in order to correctly diagnose as well as to minimize the dose of radiation. This study aimed to investigate the dentists' viewpoints about prescribing panoramic rhy.

In this descriptive study, data were obtained through a questionnaire that were answered by 130 dentists practicing in Yazd. Dentists were asked to rate 21 factors for their influence upon panoramic use, compare the benefit of panoramic and intraoral radiographs for diagnosis of common dental pathologies and state their principal reasons for taking panoramic radiographs. Data were analyzed with SPSS software(version 20) using descriptive statistics method and fisher exact test.

The factors most likely to influence dentists to take a panoramic radiograph were facial trauma (98.5%), pre implant surgry (97.7%). Moreover, dentists ' opinions on the diagnostic importance of panoramic radiographs were in broad agreement with those in the scientific literature except assessing of periodontal bone. The main reasons for taking panoramic radiographs were as a general screen (23.1%) and as a view for unerupted or impacted teeth (21.1%).

There are areas where dentists’ prescription of panoramic radiographs is in disagreement with recent guidelines. Successful implementation of these guidelines would be likely to lead to a substantial reduction in the numbers of panoramic radiographs taken by General Dentists.