For Students

Evaluation of Radiographs

Radiographs should be obtained after anamnesis and clinical examination.  If patient has previous radiographs, these ones also should be evaluated.  Thus, the physician can correctly decide how many radiographs to take from which region and with which technique, and evaluate the radiographs correctly.

The radiograph should be evaluated primarily in terms of irradiation, placement and processing.  Inadequate and inaccurate radiographs should not be used.  Negatoscope must be used for accurate diagnosis of radiographs.  The light of the negatoscope should be homogeneous.  Light should come from the bottom of the film and should not leak from around the film. If it is possible radiographs should be examined in a dim environment.  For the examination of digital radiographs, the brightness and contrast settings of the monitor should be appropriate and the monitor should not be backlit.

After deciding that the radiograph is sufficient for evaluation, firstly it is decided whether the structures seen are normal or not.  So, normal radiographic anatomy should be well known.  It should be noted that the concept of "normal" is not very precise and may contain some variations.  As a general rule, the deterioration of the bilateral symmetry of the jaw and the difference in radiographs taken from the same region at different times can be characterized as an abnormal situation.