Comparison of pediatric doses of cone beam computed tomography and panoramic radiography in three age groups

Background: A wide variety of radiation dose values can occur in Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) devices with different field of view (FOV) sizes. Radiation dose of current CBCT devices have been considerably reduced. This study compared effective radiation doses and organ absorption doses obtained from panoramic and CBCT imaging at various FOV sizes in children aged five, ten, and fifteen years. Materials and Methods: To calculate the organ doses and effective doses, a dose calculation software PC-based Monte Carlo (PCXMC) 2.0 based on Monte-Carlo simulation was used for CBCT and panoramic exposures. Both absorbed and effective doses were calculated for the simulated phantoms of 5, 10 and 15 years old separately. Results: The organ doses of thyroid and salivary glands measured with 6*6 ECO Scan CBCT were found to be lower when compared with panoramic radiography organ doses. Panoramic radiography effective doses were lower than all other CBCT modes in all age groups. Conclusion: Although it is stated that this study does not have diagnostic data, it is thought that 6×6 ECO Scan Mode of Newtom CBCT can be chosen instead of panoramic radiography in children aged 5 years due to the dose differences. © 2025 Novin Medical Radiation Institute. All rights reserved.