X-ray and gamma-ray absorbed dose profiles in teeth: An EPR and modeling study

Dose profiles in teeth have been experimentally and theoretically studied for different energies and geometries of incident X- and gamma-rays. The experiments were conducted with teeth inside of an Alderson phantom using monodirectional radiation beams at selected energies; they revealed two effects: an apparent lack of dose attenuation between the buccal and the lingual sides of the teeth for energies higher than 120 keV and an attenuation between first and last tooth layers for low-energy beams in the range from 0.28 to 0.57. Monte Carlo simulations confirmed the experimental data and provided dose profiles for other energies and geometries. In particular, exposure in the rotational radiation field produces pronounced dose profiles only for energies lower than 60 keV. The usefulness of these data to estimate the average energy of accidental radiation field is discussed.