Analysis of Radio-opaque Dental X-ray Devices with Monte Carlo N-Particle Simulations

Abstract

Different shield designs were tested as additions to a dental x-ray mouthpiece. The most effective was able to reduce the dose by 25.6 ± 0.1% using lead as a test material. Furthermore, there was an 11.6 ± 6.3% reduction in particle count across the detector caused by a significant reduction to detector noise. The energy spectrum of the x-rays crossing the detector is mostly unchanged with the added mouthpiece. This suggests that the fundamental performance will be unchanged. 316 LVM surgical steel was chosen based on effective dose reduction, limited to no health effects, and cost effectiveness out of a list of several materials considered. A final design was created which yielded a dose reduction of 25.5 ± 0.1%. The material cost of the shield is around $20(USD) with a cost of approximately $230(USD) to machine the individual part. However, this machining cost is expected to decrease if mass produced.