A study on radiation safety education, knowledge, and practice in using portable intraoral X-ray equipment of dental hygienist’s

Jeong-Min Ryu   Bo-Sun Kang1   Seol-Hee Kim1,*   

Department of Radiation Convergence Science, College of Medical Science, General Graduate School of Konyang University
1Department of Dental Hygiene, College of Medical Science, Konyang University

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate radiation safety education, knowledge and practice of dental hygienists in using handheld portable intraoral X-ray equipment and to suggest the need for radiation safety education in using handheld portable intraoral X-ray equipment. Methods: We surveyed 223 dental hygienists from July, 2017 to August in the dental clinics of Daejeon, Seoul and Gyeonggi area. Results: Radiation safety educational experience was higher in a year's career (72.9%), than 3 years experience (32.5%) (p<0.05). 82.7% of dental clinic workers took university education for radiation safety education while 55.6% of dental hospital workers took company training (p<0.05). More than 70% of the subjects did not have experience of radiation safety education about using portable intraoral X-ray. Radiation safety knowledge was highest in a year’s career (p<0.05). The cumulative dose, radiation sensitivity, and lead defense knowledge were high in all subjects, but knowledge related to scattering radiation and scattering radiation sources was low. Practice of portable intraoral X-ray safety was significantly lower than knowledge. Conclusions: Knowledge of portable intraoral radiography safety is available, but performance is poor. Even with the small amount of radiation exposure, the risk is perceivable. There is a need to actively utilize the provided radiation protection products. In order to do this, efforts should be made to improve knowledge and performance of radiation safety through not only college education but also post- employment training.

Figures & Tables

Table 1. The general characteristics of this subject (N=223)