Research and analysis

Dental x-ray examinations in the UK, 2002 to 2004: a review

This report (HPA-RPD-022) is a review of radiation doses from routine dental x-ray examinations.

• From: Public Health England
• Published: 1 June 2007

Documents

HPA-RPD-022: doses to patients arising from dental x-ray examinations in the UK

Ref: ISBN 978-0-85951-590-0

PDF, 177 KB, 22 pages

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Details

Over time, there has been a significant and continual reduction in patient dose for intra oral radiography, and this trend is evident in the data presented in this paper. This study, which cover results from the then Health Protection Agency Dental X-ray Protection Service of x-ray set assessments over the calendar years 2002 to 2004, demonstrate that the third quartile dose for intra oral radiography has now fallen to 2.4 mGy. For panoramic radiography a much slighter reduction is apparent, with the third quartile dose now being 60 mGy mm. This paper examines the underlying causes for the above results and speculates on the scope for further dose reduction in the future.

Published 1 June 2007