What should be used to protect the patient from radiation?

What should be used to protect the patient from radiation?

• A. Lead apron and thyroid collar
• B. Lead gloves
• C. Protective eyewear only
• D. No protection is needed

Answer: (A)

Shielding is essential to limit radiation dose to radiosensitive tissues. In dental radiography, the most effective protection for the patient is a lead apron to shield the torso and a thyroid collar to protect the neck and thyroid gland from scatter radiation. Together they reduce the amount of radiation the body absorbs during the exposure. Lead gloves would only protect the hands if they were in the beam, which isn’t the typical concern for patient protection in these exams, and protective eyewear is not used to reduce the patient’s radiation dose in this context. No protection is not appropriate because even diagnostic exposures expose sensitive tissues to some scatter radiation. So, the combination of a lead apron and thyroid collar provides the best overall protection for the patient.

Shielding is essential to limit radiation dose to radiosensitive tissues. In dental radiography, the most effective protection for the patient is a lead apron to shield the torso and a thyroid collar to protect the neck and thyroid gland from scatter radiation. Together they reduce the amount of radiation the body absorbs during the exposure. Lead gloves would only protect the hands if they were in the beam, which isn’t the typical concern for patient protection in these exams, and protective eyewear is not used to reduce the patient’s radiation dose in this context. No protection is not appropriate because even diagnostic exposures expose sensitive tissues to some scatter radiation. So, the combination of a lead apron and thyroid collar provides the best overall protection for the patient.