An in vivo evaluation in children of the HPL bitewing device.

The HPL bitewing device, a new beam-aiming collimating bitewing film holder, has recently been developed. The aims of this study were to assess the practicability of using the new device clinically and to compare the diagnostic yield obtained with the new technique with those obtained using a conventional freehand method and the Rinn XCP instrument. For each of the three techniques a pair of bitewings was taken of 30 randomly selected patients aged 6-15 years. These bitewings were evaluated for technical errors using seven different criteria, including the number and severity of overlapping contacts. The results show that the HPL method produced the greatest number of unoverlapped surfaces and the smallest proportion of moderate and severe overlaps. For five of the seven criteria, the HPL method produced fewer technical errors than the other two methods. Assessment of the acceptability of the procedures to the children revealed few differences between the three radiographic techniques. Further studies of the new technique, involving larger numbers of patients and sequential radiographs, are indicated.