INBDE (Integrated National Board Dental Examination) Practice Exam

What does increasing mA do to the x-ray?

1. Increases quality

2. Decreases quantity

3. Increases quantity

4. Decreases quality

The correct answer is: Increases quantity

Increasing the milliamperage (mA) in an X-ray machine will increase the quantity of X-rays produced. This is because the mA setting controls the amount of current flowing through the X-ray tube, which directly affects the number of X-ray photons generated. Therefore, increasing the mA will result in a higher quantity of X-ray photons being produced, making choice C the correct answer. On the other hand: - Option A, stating that increasing mA increases quality, is incorrect because the quality of an X-ray beam is determined by kVp (kilovoltage peak) settings, not mA. - Option B, indicating that increasing mA decreases quantity, is incorrect as explained above. - Option D, mentioning that increasing mA decreases quality, is also incorrect because, as mentioned earlier, quality is primarily affected by kVp rather than mA.