Orthodontic records: new aspects of an old concern

In the last few years, there has been a growing concern about the amount of X-rays to which patients are exposed during radiographic examinations requested by the dentists responsible for their treatments. This concern has been identified in Reference Centers of Orthodontics all over the world. Evidence of that is an Editorial published in 2008,1 in which the Editor of the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (AJODO), David Turpin, analyzed the guidelines of the British Orthodontic Society2 (BOS) for radiography in Orthodontics. In its general considerations, BOS basically reminds dentists that no safe level of exposure to radiation has been established and recommends a careful analysis of risks and benefits for the patient?s health before each radiograph is requested and stresses that radiographs should be indicated only when there is an appropriate clinical justification. Therefore, according to the BOS, no indication or need is justified in the following orthodontic cases: routine radiographs obtained before clinical examination; set of routine radiographs for all orthodontic patients; full pretreatment periapical examination; cephalometric profile radiographs to predict facial growth; hand and wrist radiographs to predict growth spurt; routine radiographs of the temporomandibular joints to evaluate dysfunctions; radiographs for medicolegal purposes; end-oftreatment radiographs whose sole objective is professional evaluation or clinical presentation; and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) as a routine examination. […]