In February, the Journal of the American Dental Association published new recommendations aimed at enhancing radiation protection in dental radiography and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). They did this in partnership with the FDA.
This is a big deal because this is the first update to to recommendations on dental imaging safety and radiation protection from the Council in over a decade.
(download the full paper here)
They found that:
- 320 million dental imaging procedures (including intraoral, panoramic, and CBCT) were conducted in the United States in one year (2016)
- This was over 46% of all diagnostic imaging and nuclear medicine procedures nationwide
Here are the key recommendations:
- Lead aprons and thyroid collars are no longer recommended for patients during dental x-ray exams. The main reasoning is they found a higher risk of the aprons and collars getting in the way of the imagery, which then results in more retakes
- Digital sensors are recommended over film because digital sensors result in a “dramatic” decrease in the dose per acquired image
- Intraoral x-rays should operate between 60kV and 80kV
- Operator should stand at least 2 m from the x-ray tube head (i.e. the source) and at 90 to 135 degrees from the beam path when other barriers are not available
- CBCT should NOT be used as the primary or initial modality
- Handheld x-rays should be stored securely when not in use so as to assure they are not used by an untrained person
We’ll be sharing more analysis and implications on these items in upcoming posts
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