General Anesthesia
One of the advantages in using digital radiography for patients that are treated while under general anesthesia is the rapidity in taking the radiograph and in the saving of time by determining immediately the quality of the radiograph. This allows the progression of treatment to be accelerated, thus preventing the prolonged time that the patient needs to be under general anesthesia (Figure 8). Also, due to the software that accompanies the digital radiograph program, the radiographs are placed into the sequence previously set up by the dentist.
Save Time and Money
With digital radiography, you will not need to purchase film mounts and take the time required to mount the processed radiographs. You will also save money on the film processor and chemicals that would have been needed to develop traditional x-ray film. The author has been able to train his dental team to take full-mouth digital radiographs in less than 10 minutes without the use of chemicals and film mounts. This saves both time and money. In more than 10 years of using the digital sensors in our multidentist practice, we have only had to replace one sensor. If you are thinking about getting a wireless sensor, you must consider the possibility of the sensor being lost or ruined by accidently leaving it in a dental gown and going through the washing machine—ouch! Some of the digital radiography companies have multiple sizes of sensors; I suggest using the "keep it simple" approach. Another concern you might have is the learning curve in switching from conventional to digital radiography. It took our team of dentists, hygienists, and assistants less than 2 hours to get used to the Rinn type holders for the sensor. There are other holders for the sensor that are even more versatile
