Radiation measurements in dentistry

Abstract

When patients undergo X-ray examinations, millions of photons pass through their bodies. In dental radiography, the part of the head that receives the greatest dose is the skin in the area where the X-rays enter, including brain, salivary gland and thyroid. The effective usage of radiation in dental practice has been studied for many years and several guidelines have been proposed. While not high doses of radiation are associated with dental radiography in the field of using radiation in dentistry practice it is the most important to provide periodical radiation measurements for radiographs used in dental clinics, to measure such main X-rays specifications, as Kilovoltage Peak (kVp), Dose/Exposure, Dose/Exposure Rate, Exposure Time – Radiographic Modes, Elapsed Time – Fluoro Modes, Average Pulse Rate – Pulsed Fluoro, Average Pulse Width – Pulsed Fluoro and Half-value Layer HVL. Besides these parameters of mAs spesifications da DoseMate specifications also must be measured. Quality control of radiological devices is very important. So, we plan periodical radiation measurements in more than 50 dental clinics in Georgia and hope that results of these measurements will be successful, encouraging. After the measurements, the results will be known to all stakeholders. We will also talk about them in our next publications.