Occupational and patients effective radiation doses in dental imaging

Tamam N 1 , Almuqrin AH 2 , Mansour S 3 , Elnour A 4 , Musa M 5 , Omer H 6 Show all authors , Sulieman A 7 , Bradley DA 8

Affiliations 

  • 1 Physics Department, College of Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: nmtamam@pnu.edu.sa
  • 2 Physics Department, College of Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
  • 3 Basic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 4 Radiology and Medical Imaging Sciences Department, Faculty of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Sciences, The National Ribat University, Khartoum, Sudan
  • 5 University of Jeddah, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • 6 Department of Basic Sciences Deanship of Preparatory Year and Supporting Studies, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P. O. Box 1982, Dammam, 34212, Saudi Arabia
  • 7 Radiology and Medical Imaging Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, P.O.Box 422, Alkharj, 11942, Saudi Arabia
  • 8 Centre for Nuclear and Radiation Physics, Department of Physics, University of Surrey, GU2 7XH Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom; Centre for Applied Physics and Radiation Technologies, School of Engineering and Technology, Sunway University, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia
Appl Radiat Isot, 2021 Nov;177:109899.
PMID: 34438276 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.109899

Abstract

Ionizing radiation exposure from medical applications is increasing annually worldwide. It was estimated that 325 million dental procedures were performed in the United States. Radiation exposure from dental radiography consists of intraoral, panoramic, and 3D imaging cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging. Recent studies reported an association between dental imaging procedures and increased cancer probability of brain and thyroid. Previous studies showed that some dental imaging practices exposed patients and staff to unnecessary radiation doses due to incorrect image acquisition and insufficient radiation protection measures. This study aims to (i) measure the occupational and patients doses during dental procedures and (ii) assess the current imaging techniques and radiation protection practices. Two hundred fourteen patients were evaluated for periapical, bitewing, cephalometric, occlusal, and panoramic procedures. Organ equivalent doses were quantified for the breast, eye lens, and thyroid gland during CBCT procedure. Occupational and ambient dose assessment were assessed using calibrated thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD-100(LiF: Mg. Ti). Ambient doses were measure at different locations at the department using TLDs. Patients' radiation doses were quantified using kerma area product (PKA (mGy.cm) and the entrance surface air kerma (ESAK (mGy). Fixed tube voltage (65 kVp) and tube current-time product (7 mAs) were used. The overall mean, sd, and range of patients dose values during intraoral (mGy), panoramic and CBCT examinations were 4.6 ± 0.7 (1.4-7.1), 135 ± 45 (75.2-168.5), and 215 ± 165 (186-2115), respectively. The mean and range of the annual occupational doses (mSv) were 1.4 (0.6-3.7), which below the annual dose limits for radiation workers (20 mSv/y). The study showed that inadequate radiation protection for patients existed in terms of the use of the thyroid shield, the technologist's presence inside the room during radiation exposure. Patients' radiation doses were comparable with the international diagnostic reference level (DRL). Staff education and training in radiation protection aspects are highly recommended.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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