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Medical Forum / General / Dentistry / October 2006Panoramic Xray Exposure
I was just at the dentist office today and the dentist performed an panoramic xray on another patient in the same room as me. I was lying on the chair about 7or 8 feet away without any protection. I heard the doctor say to his hygenist that it is more than 6 feet away so it should be safe but of course he would say that right? when i asked about it with another hygenist she asked why didn't i say s/t? then she didn't want to talk about it..which concerned me. Besides isn't it there responsibility to protect me? anyways, Should i be concerned about the xray exposure? rj As far as any form of risk, unless you are exposed to this on a daily basis, do not worry. That being said, you should not have been in the same room as the panorex machine. The room should be isolated with lead walls. The exposure you might have received was in the form of a very weak scatter radiation...but I am not making excuses for the dentist...I just want to reassure you. Thanks, that makes me feel a little better. Should i be concerned about this "very weak scatter radiation"? Should i be concerned because it wasn't like a millisecond xray but one that lasted 5-10 seconds because its a panorama one? to be honest i don't know if his walls are even lead. thanks > As far as any form of risk, unless you are exposed to this on a daily basis, > do not worry. That being said, you should not have been in the same room as > the panorex machine. The room should be isolated with lead walls. The > exposure you might have received was in the form of a very weak scatter > radiation...but I am not making excuses for the dentist...I just want to > reassure you. 1 panoral radiograph = the amount of background radiation you get in a 2-hour flight from London to Barcelona 1 small dental radiograph = the amount of background radiation you get going about your daily business Don't sweat it. People who should worry about radiation are those exposed to it frequently (dentist, radiologist, nuclear plant worker) or those undergoing radiotherapy. That said, your dentist should be more responsible with radiography devices. Regards, George > Thanks, that makes me feel a little better. Should i be concerned about > this "very weak scatter radiation"? Should i be concerned because it [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > thanks Panoramic machines are almost certainly better shielded for scatter radiation than conventional machines. Because the x-ray head rotates around the patient, you are only exposed through a thin slot in the head for the moment that the head is pointed in your direction. Even at 7-8 feet, your exposure will be greatly attenuated. You shouldn't worry about this. This does not excuse the dentist, who should know better. Steve >> As far as any form of risk, unless you are exposed to this on a daily basis, >> do not worry. That being said, you should not have been in the same room as >> the panorex machine. The room should be isolated with lead walls. The >> exposure you might have received was in the form of a very weak scatter >> radiation...but I am not making excuses for the dentist...I just want to >> reassure you. > As far as any form of risk, unless you are exposed to this on a daily basis, > do not worry. That being said, you should not have been in the same room as > the panorex machine. The room should be isolated with lead walls. The > exposure you might have received was in the form of a very weak scatter > radiation...but I am not making excuses for the dentist...I just want to > reassure you. Interesting--usually this kind of open floor plan I thought was used primarily in ortho offices. And then, there's usually a separate room for pans. I agree--the risk is minimal. But it shouldn't have happened. Steve I must be naive...everytime I ever saw a panorex machine in a dental/ortho office, it was in a room all its own...even at the school, the pans are in a separate room. This just sounds too weird. :) >> As far as any form of risk, unless you are exposed to this on a daily >> basis, do not worry. That being said, you should not have been in the [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Steve >I must be naive...everytime I ever saw a panorex machine in a dental/ortho >office, it was in a room all its own...even at the school, the pans are in >a separate room. This just sounds too weird. :) I have seen panorex machines out in the open at several dentist's offices. |
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