The effect of sharp contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (SCLAHE) on Intra-oral dental radiograph images

Radiographic interpretation is crucial for the excellence of quality patient care. Image enhancements can contribute to better image that allow the clinician to derive the optimum amount of information from the radiographic data. However, the degree of enhancement applied to the original image can produce distortions that will lead to misinterpretation. This research presents the effect of Intra-oral dental x-ray images before and after processing with sharp contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (SCLAHE) in order to detect the effectiveness of this option on diagnostic ability. In this study 10 intra-oral periapical dental x-ray images (4 upper jaw molar and 6 lower jaw molar) were evaluated by six dentists and were scored from 1 - 5 for the overall image quality based on their perception of the image quality and the presence of the tooth pathologies. Results show that SCLAHE have the positive effect on providing better information for dentists.