The status of Spain's dental practices following the European Union directive concerning radiological installations

Abstract

Objectives To assess the influence of new European Union (EU) legislation on dental radiology practices and the reduction in patient radiation exposure. Study design A total of 7176 official reports from Spanish dental offices or clinics covering the period 1996 to 2001 were analyzed. Results Of the dental radiological installations inspected in 2001, 72.79% used the kilovoltage recommended by the EU (70 kVp) and 98.85% used at least 1.5 mm Al filtration. At least 90.11% of the installations had a focal film distance of 20 cm although there were no cases with a rectangular collimator as adapted to the size of film. Thirty percent of the installations showed a mechanical fault every year. In 17.62% of cases the radiological film was stored in the exposure room. Few clinics (10.24%) used high-speed films and only 11.95% of clinics employed digital systems. The mean dose received by patients fell during the 5 years studied by 18.75%. Radiological equipment fulfilling the EU specifications emitted significantly lower doses than other nonapproved equipment. Conclusions The introduction of legislation has resulted in a gradual improvement in dental radiology practices.