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Digital dental radiology in Belgium: a nationwide survey.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to analyse the use of digital dental radiology in Belgium, by focussing on the use of extraoral and intraoral radiographic techniques, digitalisation and image communication.


METHODS
A nationwide survey has been performed amongst Belgian general dentists and dental specialists. Questionnaires were distributed digitally via mailings lists and manually on multiple refresher courses and congresses throughout the country. The overall response rate was 30%.


RESULTS
Overall, 94% of the respondents had access to an intraoral radiographic unit, 76% had access to a panoramic unit, 21% has an attached cephalometric arm. One in five Belgian dentists also seem to have direct access to a cone beam CT. 90% of all intraoral radiography unit worked with digital detectors, while this was 91% for panoramic units (with or without cephalometrics). In 70% of the cases, general dental practitioners with a digital intraoral unit used a storage phosphor plate while in 30% of the cases they used sensor technology (charge-coupled device or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor). The most common method for professional image transfer appeared to be email. Finally, 16% of all respondents used a calibrated monitor for image analysis.


CONCLUSIONS
The survey indicates that 90% of the respondents, Belgian dentists, make use of digital image techniques. For sharing images, general dental practitioners mainly use methods such as printout and e-mail. The usage of calibrated monitors, however, is not well established yet.