Knowledge and Awareness of Dentists Working at Tertiary Care Hospital Towards Radiation Protection and Safety

Abstract

Background: Radiographs provide useful information and aid in diagnosis; though they have the potential to cause harmful effects as it uses ionizing radiation like X-Rays. In dentistry, it is mainly used for diagnostic purposes, and in a dental set‑up, usually the practicing dentist exposes, processes, and interprets the radiograph. Even though such exposure is less, it is critical to reduce exposure to the dental personnel and patients to prevent the harmful effects of ionizing radiation. Certain amount of radiation is inevitably delivered to the patients, it should be as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). Dental practice has its own way of radiation exposure. Though the exposure is minimal, it is very important to reduce the radiation to avoid the accumulated dose to the dentist in their lifetime. Hence this present study was designed to assess the present knowledge and awareness towards radiation protection and safety. Methods: The study was conducted to explore the knowledge and awareness of Nepalese dentists towards radiation protection and safety. A cross-sectional study has been designed among 100 study participants. The data obtained was analyzed by SPSS-16. Results: In this present study, 79(79%) of the participants think that dental X-Ray is harmful where as 21(21%) do not think it is harmful which is alarming. Awareness of ALARA principle was seen among 88(88%) of the participants. More than half of the participants 54(54%) in the study were aware of NCRP and International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). 90% of the participants confirmed to adhere to radiation protection in the future. Conclusion: The knowledge and awareness of dentists in the study towards radiation protection and safety was seen to be insufficient in many arenas. Regular workshops should be facilitated at both the institutional and national level for motivating them towards maintaining radiation safety protocol.

Keywords

• awareness, knowledge, radiation protection