Ionizing radiation regulations and the dental practitioner: 1. The nature of ionizing radiation and its use in dentistry.
Legislation governing the use of ionizing radiation in the workplace and in medical treatment first became law in 1985 and 1988, being superseded by the Ionizing Radiations Regulations 1999 (IRR99) and the Ionizing Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2000, (IR(ME)R 2000), respectively. This legislation ensures a safe environment in which to work and receive treatment and requires that those involved in the radiographic process must be appropriately trained for the type of radiographic practice they perform. A list of the topics required is detailed in Schedule 2 of IR(ME)R 2000 and is paraphrased in Table 1, with the extent and amount of knowledge required depending on the type of radiographic practice undertaken.


CONCLUSIONS
Virtually all dental practitioners undertake radiography as part of their clinical practice. Legislation requires that users of radiation, including dentists and members of the dental team, understand the basic principles of radiation physics, hazards and protection, and are able to undertake dental radiography safely with the production of high quality, diagnostic images.
Department of Radiography, Birmingham Dental Hospital, St Chad's Queensway, Birmingham, UK.
John
J
Rout
Jackie
J
Brown
D000042:Absorption; D003815:Dentists / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D060733:Electromagnetic Radiation; D006801:Humans; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / Q000209:etiology; D009686:Nuclear Physics; D018579:Patient Selection; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011830:Radiation Effects; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011839:Radiation, Ionizing; D016300:Radiography, Bitewing; D011861:Radiography, Dental / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011862:Radiography, Panoramic; D012062:Relative Biological Effectiveness; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D006113:United Kingdom; D014965:X-Rays