What material is the collimator commonly made of?

The collimator is commonly made of lead due to its effective radiation-absorbing properties, which are essential in controlling and directing the x-ray beam in dental imaging. The collimator's primary function is to minimize patient exposure to radiation by narrowing the x-ray beam to the area of interest. Lead's high atomic number makes it particularly suitable for this purpose because it can effectively shield against x-ray radiation.

While other materials, such as plastic, aluminum, and copper, have their own uses in dental radiography, they do not provide the same level of shielding and precision in beam direction as lead. Plastic might be used in other components of imaging systems, aluminum is occasionally employed as a filter to reduce low-energy x-rays, and copper is less common but can also be part of the x-ray tube design. However, for collimation specifically, lead is the preferred material.