QUESTIONNAIRE STUDY ON AWARENESS OF RADIATION SAFETY AND PROTECTION AMONG DENTISTS

Abstract

Dental radiographs have long been the standard method for detecting oral illness. The harmful effects of radiation produced by dental radiographs is very low but still continuous exposure to radiation will cause harm to human health. This study aim is to estimate the awareness of radiation safety and protection in dental practice. Material and method - A questionnaire with ten questions was prepared and circulated to 100 dentists from different parts of India. Responses were gathered, and an appraisal was made as a result. Result- A total of 100 dentists responded enthusiastically and took part in it. Most of the dentists were aware of harmful effects of dental x-ray and its radiation physics and biology. Many of them are not using personal monitoring device for measuring radiation exposure. Conclusion: Radiation security expertise and experience was insufcient. While many participants had strong knowledge of radiation safety, risks, and defense, some fall into the average knowledge group, according to this study. In spite of having knowledge of harmful effects of radiation, many dentists have not used any safety protection and have not followed safety protocols. To avoid the risks in future more awareness programs have to be conducted about radiation safety and protection