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Dental Radiology Glossary

105 terms total — 24 showing — Last updated 15 Sep 2026

Stafne Bone Cavity

Advanced Technical IVT

A developmental bone concavity on the lingual surface of the posterior mandible caused by a submandibular salivary gland inclusion, presenting radiographically as a well-defined, corticated, unilocular radiolucency below the mandibular canal.

Showing 25–48 of 105

Dentigerous Cyst

Intermediate Technical IVT

A developmental odontogenic cyst arising from the follicular epithelium around the crown of an unerupted or impacted too...

Technical Term Full entry →

Diagnostic Reference Level

Advanced Formal IVT

An investigation level of radiation dose established for standard radiographic examinations, used to identify unusually...

DRL
Technical Term Full entry →

Digital Subtraction Radiography

Advanced Technical IVT

A computerised radiographic technique in which two images taken at different times are digitally aligned and subtracted...

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Dose Area Product

Advanced Technical IVT

A measure of the total radiation dose delivered during a radiographic examination, calculated as the absorbed dose multi...

DAP
Technical Term Full entry →

Dosimetry (Radiation)

Professional Technical IVT

The measurement and calculation of absorbed radiation dose received by patients or staff during radiographic procedures,...

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DRL

Intermediate Formal IVT

Abbreviation for Diagnostic Reference Level, a dose investigation benchmark for standard radiographic examinations used...

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DSR

Advanced Technical

Abbreviation for Digital Subtraction Radiography, a technique that isolates interval changes between sequential dental r...

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Effective Dose

Intermediate Technical IVT

A radiation dosimetry value, expressed in millisieverts (mSv), representing the weighted sum of tissue-equivalent doses...

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Elongation

Basic Technical IVT

A geometric distortion in intraoral radiography in which the image of a tooth appears longer than its true anatomical le...

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Enamel Pearl

Advanced Technical IVT

An ectopic nodule of enamel deposited on the root surface, most commonly in the furcation area of molar teeth, appearing...

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Exposure (Radiographic)

Basic Technical IVT

The act of directing ionising radiation at a patient and detector to produce a diagnostic image; also a quantitative mea...

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Exposure Index

Advanced Technical IVT

A numerical value assigned by a digital imaging system to indicate the amount of radiation received by the detector duri...

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Field of View

Advanced Technical IVT

In CBCT imaging, the three-dimensional volume of tissue included in a scan, specified by its height and diameter and sel...

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Foreshortening

Basic Technical IVT

A geometric distortion in intraoral radiography in which a tooth's image appears shorter than its true anatomical length...

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Furcation (Radiographic Assessment)

Intermediate Technical IVT

The radiographic evaluation of bone level at the point where the roots of a multi-rooted tooth diverge (the furcation ar...

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Furcation Involvement

Intermediate Technical IVT

Radiographic evidence of bone loss extending into the furcation area where the roots of a multi-rooted tooth diverge, in...

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Genial Tubercle

Intermediate Technical IVT

A small bony projection on the lingual surface of the anterior mandible that appears as a ring-shaped radiopacity with a...

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Ghost Artefact

Intermediate Technical IVT

A spurious radiopaque shadow appearing on a panoramic radiograph, produced by a dense structure on the opposite side of...

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Ghost Image

Intermediate Technical IVT

A spurious, magnified, and blurred duplicate of a radiopaque structure appearing on a panoramic radiograph on the opposi...

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Greyscale

Basic Technical

The continuous range of grey tones, from black to white, used to represent varying degrees of X-ray attenuation in a dig...

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Hounsfield Unit

Advanced Technical IVT

A standardised unit of radiodensity used in computed tomography (including CBCT) to express the X-ray attenuation of a t...

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Hypercementosis

Advanced Technical IVT

An abnormal thickening of the cementum on a tooth root, appearing radiographically as a bulbous root outline with preser...

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Iatrogenic Perforation

Advanced Formal IVT

An unintended communication between the root canal system and the periodontal or periradicular tissues caused by a clini...

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Impaction (Dental)

Intermediate Technical IVT

The state of a tooth that is prevented from fully erupting into its normal functional position by another tooth, bone, o...

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Showing 25–48 of 105

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