A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF X-/GAMMA RAY ATTENUATION CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED RAW MATERIALS COMMONLY USED IN DENTAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Abstract

The application of dental X-ray imaging and gamma-ray sterilization is a base to the diagnosis and assessment of a wide range of oral and maxillofacial conditions. In this study, the interaction mechanisms of X-/gamma-ray photons with nine commonly used dental restorative and treatment materials were systematically evaluated. To accomplish this, several key radiation-attenuation parameters, including the mass and linear attenuation coefficients (μₘ, μ), mean free path (MFP), atomic and electronic cross sections (σₜ_.a, σₜ_.el), effective electron density (N_eff), as well as the equivalent and effective atomic numbers (Z_eq, Z_eff) were calculated and analyzed over a broad photon-energy range (15 keV to 15 MeV). The computations were performed using the EpiXS software package, and the obtained results were further verified through comparison with data generated by the NIST-XCOM database. A detailed investigation was carried out at twelve discrete characteristic X-ray energy levels between 0.008 and 0.05 MeV. In addition, mass attenuation coefficients (μ_m) were calculated for γ-ray emissions from widely used radionuclides, including ²⁴¹Am, ¹³³Ba, ¹⁰⁹Cd, ¹⁵²Eu, ⁵⁷Co, ⁶⁰Co, ¹³⁷Cs, ²²Na, ¹⁵²Eu, ⁵⁴Mn, ⁵⁵Fe, and ¹³¹I. Given that the principal aim of this investigation was to evaluate the X-/γ-ray shielding capabilities of the tested dental materials, their corresponding shielding metrics particularly buildup factors (BUFs) were also analyzed using the GP-fitting interpolation method. Furthermore, the attenuation behavior of these materials was systematically compared with several reference shielding materials documented in the literatures. The linear attenuation coefficient of all investigated samples reduced quickly with the increase in energy, at the beginning, while decrease more slowly in the region from ⁓ 270 keV to ⁓ 850 keV. The effective atomic number of high-noble alloy and noble alloy are comparatively higher than the Z_eff of the remaining samples, while acrylic possesses the lowest effective atomic number. The half value layer results showed that high-noble alloy (highest density) is more effective to attenuate the X-/γ-ray photons. On the other hand, high-noble alloy had the lowest BUFs in both lower (0.015–0.08 MeV) and higher (5–15 MeV) energy regions. The findings reveal that the high-noble alloy exhibits the greatest attenuation capability among all investigated samples. Overall, this study offers detailed insight into how common dental restorative materials interact with ionizing radiation, providing valuable guidance for enhancing patient safety and strengthening diagnostic accuracy in dental radiographic practices.

Abstrak

Penggunaan pengimejan sinar-X pergigian dan pensterilan sinar gamma adalah asas kepada diagnosis dan penilaian pelbagai keadaan mulut dan maksilofasial. Dalam kajian ini, mekanisme interaksi foton sinar-X/gamma dengan sembilan bahan pemulihan dan rawatan pergigian yang biasa digunakan telah dinilai secara sistematik. Untuk mencapai matlamat ini, beberapa parameter pengecilan sinaran utama, termasuk pekali pengecilan jisim dan linear (µₘ, µ), min laluan bebas (MFP), keratan rentas atom dan elektronik (σₜ.a, σₜ.el), ketumpatan elektron berkesan (Neff, dan telaga Z sebagai setara dengan julat lebihan kavalen foton-5 ke kavalen lebar foton-15. MeV). Pengiraan telah dilakukan menggunakan pakej perisian EpiXS, dan keputusan yang diperolehi selanjutnya disahkan melalui perbandingan dengan data yang dijana oleh pangkalan data NIST-XCOM Satu penyiasatan terperinci telah dijalankan pada dua belas tahap tenaga sinar-X ciri diskret antara 0.008 dan 0.05 MeV Di samping itu, pekali pengecilan jisim digunakan secara meluas (μmγ) untuk pekali pengecilan radio. 241Am, 133Ba, 109Cd, 152Eu, 57Co, 60Co, 137Cs, 22Na, 531Fen Memandangkan matlamat utama penyiasatan ini adalah untuk menilai keupayaan perisai sinar-X bagi bahan pembina pergigian yang diuji juga adalah perisai metrik BUF yang sepadan dengannya. Kaedah interpolasi pemasangan GP Selanjutnya, kelakuan pengecilan bahan-bahan ini secara sistematik dibandingkan dengan beberapa bahan pelindung rujukan yang didokumenkan dalam literatur Pekali pengecilan linear bagi semua sampel yang disiasat berkurangan dengan cepat dengan peningkatan tenaga, pada mulanya, sementara berkurangan dengan lebih perlahan di kawasan daripada ⁓ 270 keV no aloi adalah lebih tinggi berbanding Zeff bagi sampel yang selebihnya, manakala akrilik mempunyai nombor atom berkesan terendah Hasil lapisan nilai separuh menunjukkan bahawa aloi mulia tinggi (ketumpatan tertinggi) adalah lebih berkesan untuk melemahkan foton sinar-X Sebaliknya, aloi mulia tinggi mempunyai BUF yang paling rendah dalam kedua-dua kawasan MeV1 yang lebih rendah (0.085–5 bahawa aloi bermutu tinggi mempamerkan keupayaan pengecilan yang paling besar di antara semua sampel yang disiasat Secara keseluruhannya, kajian ini menawarkan pandangan terperinci tentang cara bahan pemulihan pergigian biasa berinteraksi dengan sinaran mengion, memberikan panduan berharga untuk meningkatkan keselamatan pesakit dan mengukuhkan ketepatan diagnostik dalam amalan radiografi pergigian.