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Radiographic Justification — MFDS Part 1 MCQ

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EasyRadiologyRadiographic JustificationMFDS Part 1

After taking an appropriate history and carrying out a clinical examination, which scenario does NOT provide clinical justification for a panoramic radiograph?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: E — An asymptomatic new patient with no relevant clinical findings or specific diagnostic question

Explanation lettering: E = shown as A · C = shown as B · D = shown as C · B = shown as D · A = shown as E

Option A is correct. Under IR(ME)R, each radiographic exposure must be individually justified by a sufficient expected benefit and must address a defined clinical question. Being a new patient is not itself an indication, and routine panoramic screening of an asymptomatic patient without relevant examination findings is unjustified. Options B–E describe specific diagnostic or treatment-planning questions for which panoramic imaging may be justified after considering existing images and whether another modality would provide the required information with less or no ionising radiation. Panoramic radiography is not automatically mandatory in any of those scenarios, but the stated clinical findings provide a potential justification; option A provides none.

Reference: Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP), Oral Health Assessment and Review, Appendix 5: Using Radiographs as a Diagnostic Aid, May 2012. https://www.sdcep.org.uk/media/sy2ldxp2/sdcep-ohar-version-1-0.pdf