Methods of dose determination using ESR spectra of tooth enamel

In recent years, doubts have been cast on the validity of the conventionally applied peak-to-peak method for dose estimation. Alternative methods are reviewed, including dose versus magnetic field plots, deconvolution using Gaussian and Lorentzian line shapes, and fitting the absorption and derivative spectra with an experimentally derived spectrum of the CO2- radical. The latter methods most probably yield the most reliable results. Conventional peak-to-peak dose estimations are closely similar. On a 2-sigma basis, nearly all methods yield statistically indistinguishable results. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.