Radiation Safety in Pediatric Dentistry by Dr. Juan Yepes

This course discusses one of the most critical and relevant aspects of the practice of dentistry: radiation safety. Special emphasis with the young patient. This course provides an overview of the most important concepts in radiation physics and radiation biology to introduce the steps that every dental practice must implement in order to decrease the radiation delivery to the young patient. One of the most effective ways to decrease the amount of radiation to our patients is with the use of rectangular collimators. This course presents and discusses this concept in detail. The course also covers the term “background radiation” in days and how we can extrapolate these concepts to explain to parents the amount of radiation of several intraoral and extraoral dental x-ray procedures. Educational Objectives: Upon completion of this course, you should be able to: At the end of this program, participants will be able to understand the importance of rectangular collimators in the context of radiation safety; At the end of this program, participants will be able to describe the amount of radiation of a panoramic film as well as intraoral projection in terms of background radiation; At the end of this program, participants will know the importance of the national campaign “Image Gently” and the applications in radiation safety for the young patient; At the end of this program, participants will be able to relate critical concepts in radiation biology and physics with radiation safety; At the end of this program, participants will be able to assimilate the critical importance of having a clear justification before exposing the patient to ionizing radiation.