ABSTRACT Panoramic X-ray is well known to cause DNA damage and induces cellular death. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of radiation exposure from panoramic radiography on human buccal mucosa cells by assessing the cell viability using the simple-trypan blue exclusion test. The genotoxicity effect was evaluated by assessing comet assay score. This research included a total of 20 healthy patients who had panoramic radiography for a routine dental examination. Buccal mucosa cells were collected from all participants before X-ray exposure and at 30 min or 24 h after exposure in Groups 1 and 2, respectively, and subjected to a comet assay and trypan blue exclusion test to assess cell viability and DNA damage. Cell viability was calculated as the ratio of live (translucent) to total counted cells. Comet assay output images were analysed using OpenComet software and a visual score by measuring the percentages of tail DNA and summing the visual score, respectively. A statistically significant (p < 0.05) reduce in cell viability was observed at 30 min after exposure, furthermore there is no more reduction after 24 h. Both comet assay measurements showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the percentage of tail DNA and visual score at 30 min after exposure, then tend to decrease after 24 h of exposure, although it was not significant (p > 0.05). The results showed that panoramic radiography interfered cell viability and induced DNA damage in buccal mucosa cells within 30 min after exposure, but these effects were ceased after 24 h.
Mouth Mucosa--cytology ; Radiography, Panoramic

Introduction: : Dental anxiety was found to be related to the radiographic procedure and can be influenced by sociodemographic characteristics of patients such as age, gender, level of education, and provoking factors such as past dental examination experience. Evaluating the anxiety regarding dental radiographic examination could be beneficial in ensuring the procedure’s continuance. This study aimed to measure the radiology knowledge among dental students and its association with anxiety due to dental radiographic examination. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect the data using a questionnaire packet that included a knowledge and anxiety questionnaire, demographic data, and information about the experience of dental radiographic examination. A total sampling of 1st and 2nd year undergraduate and clerkship dental students at the Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia was selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Anxiety-related factors were assessed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression conducted with STATA 15.1. Results: Results showed that knowledge and anxiety were negatively correlated but the correlation was not statistically significant. Gender, radiographic technique, and presence/absence of a companion during the examination were not correlated with anxiety. Meanwhile, the anxiety level was negatively and significantly correlated with age and examination frequency (p < 0.05). Multiple linear regression results showed strong evidence that age and examination frequency were the main factors for predicting anxiety. Conclusion: Although age, radiographic examination frequency, and educational level are significant bivariate predictors of anxiety, subsequent regression analysis indicated that only age and radiographic examination frequency influence anxiety.