Patient Positioning

The second component of technique error analysis is the determination of patient positioning errors. This is of critical importance because even small patient positioning errors can produce effects that can obscure areas of the image and result in the loss of diagnostic information.

Technique errors can be easily recognized by careful analysis of the position, relationship of structures, unsharpness and distortion in a panoramic radiograph. The visual effects of incorrect patient positioning on the image may be described according to whether they affect anatomic representation or features of the dentition.