Dental Radiology Training
Dental radiologists are usually dental assistants or dental hygienists with broader duties than just taking x-rays. They generally receive their radiology training as a major portion of their dental assistant or dental hygiene education. In some states, dental assistants and hygienists must be certified as radiologists after having taken a state-approved course.
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Radiology Safety
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Dental radiology requires professionalism, attention to detail and acute safety precautions. Just as with all x-ray technology, dental radiology requires professionalism, attention to detail and acute safety precautions. X-ray is energy that the body absorbs and even the low amounts emitted during a dental x-ray can have a cumulative effect on both the dental radiologist and patient, who generally have a lead-lined protective shield laid over their chest and abdomen as protection. Faster films have reduced the amount of x-ray exposure needed for images, benefiting both the patient and technician. The radiologist wears special protective clothing or stands behind a movable shield or wall that deflects the x-rays.
Dental Radiology Importance
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Dental x-rays are one of a dentist’s most valuable diagnostic tools. Dental x-rays are one of a dentist’s most valuable diagnostic tools, providing a quick and efficient means to look inside the teeth and check for cavities, infections and disease. The x-rays can reveal problems that a visual examination may not disclose. Such common procedures as a root canal cannot be properly performed without x-rays, which are needed to show the dentist that he has succeeded in filling the canal.
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Certificate Training
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Aimed at dental hygienists and assistants, Springfield Technical Community College in Massachusetts offers a certificate in dental radiology. Aimed at dental hygienists and assistants, Springfield Technical Community College in Massachusetts offers a certificate in dental radiology that is taught in about five sessions that includes classroom and laboratory experiences. The program teaches students to take x-rays, process, mount and evaluate them. The laboratory exercises provide students with hands-on training of x-ray techniques as well as radiation safety measures. Among the topics covered are digital radiography, infection control protocols, processing dental x-rays and other pertinent topics. Following the course, students must take an examination required by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Dentistry during which students must take, process, mount and evaluate their radiographic images.
Associate Degree
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Associate degrees in dental assistant earned at community colleges generally feature one or two courses in dental radiology. Associate degrees in dental assistant earned at community colleges generally feature one or two courses in dental radiology. For example, Spokane Community College in Washington State includes a course covering the radiology basics such as contemporary radiology techniques, darkroom operation and film processing, the opportunity to practice on mannequins as well as the principles of x-ray safety and protection. Similarly, the dental hygienist degree program at the Community College of Denver has a dental radiology class that covers x-ray principles and proper x-ray handling as well as normal dental conditions and pathologies and laboratory experiences.
Bachelor’s Degree
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A bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene includes three courses in dental radiology. The University of Michigan School of Dentistry offers a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene that requires 120 semester hours to complete, which includes three courses in dental radiology. During the sophomore year, students take radiography and in the junior and senior years they take Interpretive Radiology I and II.
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References
Resources
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