Luminescence characteristics of dental ceramics for retrospective dosimetry: a preliminary study

Ceramic materials that are widely employed in dental prosthetics and repairs exhibit luminescent properties. Because of their use in the body, these materials are potentially of interest in situations where retrospective dosimetry for individuals is required but where monitoring was not planned. The luminescent properties of dental ceramics obtained from Germany, Spain and the UK were examined. Linear dose-response characteristics were obtained in the range < 100 mGy to 10 Gy using thermoluminescence (TL), optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and infrared-stimulated luminescence (IRSL) measurement techniques. Measurements of time-resolved luminescence were also performed to examine the nature of the luminescence recombination under visible (470 nm) and IR (855 nm) stimulation. The results obtained by TL and optically stimulated techniques suggest that there may be deeper traps than previously observed in certain types of dental ceramic. Such traps may be less susceptible to optical and athermal fading than was reported in earlier studies.