AWARENESS OF DENTISTS TOWARD THE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION AND ITSPROTECTION MEASURES IN KARAJ

Abstract

Aim : This study aimed to investigate theawareness of the dentists about the biological effects of ionizing radiation and its protection measures in the city of Karaj, Iran. Materials and Methods : In this descriptive-analytical study,the study data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire including items on demographic and awareness of dentists. the analysis of collected data was done throughusing ANOVA test in SPSS version 20. Then, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software (v. 20) and analyzed using Student t test and One-way ANOVA. Results : 90 of the dentists (69.2%) were male and 40 (30.8%) were female. 46.2% have more than 10-year work experience. 13.1% were employed in the public sector treatment centers. 80.8% did not participate in training courses of oral radiology. The overall mean score of dentists was14.60 ± 3.81. There was no significant difference among dentists’ awareness in terms of gender, working in publicor private treatment centers, working experience and participation in training courses (p>0.05). Conclusion : According to results of the present study, the dentists did not have sufficient information about the biological effects of ionizing radiation and its protection. This may cause some problems in the society. Therefore, improving dentists ‘awareness about radiation protection seems to be of great importance.