Yepes-Pediatric Oral Radiology: From Radiation Safety to Lesions and CBCT-View Dr. Yepes Course Video CSPD

Video Transcription

Video Summary

At a California Society of Pediatric Dentistry meeting, Dr. Juan Yepes—an Indiana University pediatric dentistry professor with extensive training in oral radiology and public health—delivers a lecture combining his radiology background with pediatric dental practice. He outlines four sections: radiation safety in children, cone beam CT (CBCT) in young patients, principles of radiographic interpretation, and common pediatric radiographic lesions.<br /><br />Yepes emphasizes that pediatric dentists must minimize radiation while still using radiographs appropriately for diagnosis. The most effective dose-reduction step, he argues, is switching from round to rectangular collimation, yet adoption remains low. He explains scatter radiation, why children’s tissues (especially thyroid and salivary glands) are more sensitive, and how to communicate dose using “days of background radiation” (e.g., a panoramic film ≈ 1–3 days). He cautions that digital imaging does not automatically guarantee very low exposure due to easy retakes and incorrect machine settings, and recommends tracking retake rates.<br /><br />For CBCT, he stresses that radiation varies mainly by field of view: large-volume scans can be roughly 10× a panoramic dose, while limited scans may be comparable to a panoramic. He warns that CBCT requires a comprehensive interpretation report to avoid missing incidental findings.<br /><br />He teaches a systematic “five-step” approach to describing lesions (density, border definition, cortication, location/size/shape, and effects on nearby structures) before forming a differential diagnosis. He briefly reviews common pediatric lesions, highlighting idiopathic bone sclerosis as frequent. The session concludes with appreciation from CSPD leadership and an announcement of the next annual meeting.

Keywords

California Society of Pediatric Dentistry

CSPD meeting

Dr. Juan Yepes

Indiana University pediatric dentistry

oral radiology

radiation safety in children

pediatric dental radiographs

dose reduction

rectangular collimation

scatter radiation

thyroid gland sensitivity

digital radiography retakes

cone beam CT

CBCT field of view

pediatric radiographic lesions