A data-correction technique for the electron spin resonance (ESR) dosimetry was discussed in order to estimate an average absorbed dose of teeth exposed to external photon. Fourteen TLDs (thermoluminescent dosimetors) were used in the experiments to obtain the dose distribution in the human mouth. Each TLD was installed on the backside of the teeth in a female rando-phantom in order to estimate the absorbed dose of each tooth. The rando-phantom was exposed to photon beams of
137Cs (0.66MeV) and
60Co (1.2/1.3MeV) to investigate the influence of the energy on the dose distribution. The direction of the photons that hit the surface of the face could also affect the distribution of the dose in the phantom mouth. The incident angles of the photon beam were changed at 45-degree intervals around the longitudinal axis of the rando-phantom at the same height as the teeth. The largest difference among the measured doses, depending on the position of the teeth and photon energy, was in excess of 40% in the case of the exposure due to the beam direction from the backside of the phantom head at the energy of 662keV. A sample of tooth enamel would be valuable for estimating the effective dose (Sv) calculated from the absorbed dose with ESR dosimetry. However, this study shows that the position of a tooth in the mouth affects the estimated value of an average absorbed dose of teeth. A simple technique to correct the ESR dosimetric results is suggested in this paper. The average absorbed dose of a tooth can be adequately estimated by using a simple formula that takes into consideration the position of the tooth, photon beam direction, and photon energy.
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