Course: Radiography and Radiation Protection for Dentists and Dental Care Professionals Training

This course has been designed for dentists and dental health professionals. The course is made up of 4 modules, with short multiple-choice tests after each module, providing 5 hours of verifiable CPD, including the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IRMER) 2000 and IRR99 and other regulations for continuing education and training in radiation protection. The GDC recommends that you do at least five hours in every CPD cycle. If you are a Dental Technician you can do CPD in materials and equipment instead of radiography and radiation protection: at least five hours in every CPD cycle. After working through these modules and passing the associated tests you will have satisfied the ionising radiation regulations (IRMER) and IRR99 for continuing education in radiation protection.

Course Contents:

Module 1

• Principles of Ionising Radiation
• Regulations and Statutory Requirements
• What are These Regulations for?
• Legal Persons/ Employers
• Radiation Protection Advisor (RPA)
• Medical Physics Expert (MPE)
• REFERRERS AND IR(ME)R PRACTITIONERS
• Operators
• Personal Dosimeters
• General Requirements - Risk Assessments
• General Requirements - Training
• Regulations - Employer Procedures
• Regulations - Schedule 2 Training
• Equipment Regulations
• Mandatory Reporting under IR(ME)R
• Operator's Training - Operator Duties
• Dental Nurse Training
• Staff and Patient Protection
• Selection Criteria or Referral Criteria
• Evidence-based Guidelines
• Dental Caries Risks
• Children and Caries Risks
• Adults and Caries Risk
• Alternative Methods of Caries Diagnosis
• Radiographs: Management of the Developing Dentition
• Orthodontic Radiographs
• Other X-Ray Views
• Radiography in Periodontal Assessment
• Radiography in Endodontics
• Referral
• SCoR Guidance - Electronic Referrals
• Optimisation (ALARP)

Module 2

• How to define the radiation risk
• Health Risk
• What are Stochastic Effects?
• Dose Metrics
• Dose Limitation
• SCoR Guidance
• Digital Systems
• What Diagnostic Reference Levels/ National Reference Doses are Used For
• Lead Aprons and Thyroid Collars
• Diagnostic Reference Levels

Module 3

• Controlled Areas
• Equipment - Dosimeters
• Maintenance and Testing
• Intra-Oral Radiography - Parameters
• Collimation
• Beam Collimators/ Directors
• Extra-Oral Radiography
• Film Processing
• Digital Detectors
• Warning Signals
• Portable (Hand-Held) Equipment

Module 4

• Radiation Protection File
• Local Rules (IRR99 Requirement)
• Employer's Written Procedures for Patient Protection
• Quality Assurance
• Image Quality
• Patient Dose & X-Ray Equipment