Applying DICOM to Dentistry

There are more than 160,000 dentists licensed in the United States. For the dental patient, the dentist is both radiologist and treating clinician. The American Dental Association (ADA) has been a member of the Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) Standard Committee since 1996. DICOM v.3 provides image object definitions for digital transmission radiography (Dx) with special categorization for intraoral projections (Io), and it also provides for color photography used in dentistry. Digital dental radiographs include transmission images of the head and jaws, pantomography, tomography and cone-beam computed tomography. In 2000, the ADA resolved to strive for interoperability of digital dental images, using the DICOM Standard as the backbone of the effort. ADA Working Group 12.1 was tasked with development of specifications and also with educating the dental profession concerning digital image interoperability. DICOM-related interoperability demonstrations are now a part of the ADA Annual Congress, in the form of seminar and as a noncommercial exhibit.