Introduction

Synopsis of the course book

The contents of the syllabus Radiation Protection Officer - Dentists and Orthodontists is as follows:

Chapter 1 is about the structure of the atom and the origin of characteristic radiation. In chapter 3 the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter is treated. These two chapters provide the physics on which health physics is based. The following chapters each deal with a specific application of interaction. But first a brief introduction to the logarithm and logarithmic graphs is given in chapter 2.

In chapter 4 it is shown how ionising radiation can be shielded. The working of x-ray equipment, and how the produced ionizing radiation is used for medical diagnosis and therapy is explained in chapter 5 and chapter 6. Radiation detection and imaging are dealt with in chapter 9 and chapter 10: the interactions inside the detector make it possible to measure radiation properties. Finally, in chapter 8 the effects of the dangerous but inevitably occurring interaction of ionising radiation with human tissue are described.

Radiobiology tells us the risk of ionising radiation, the main source of evidence being the survivors of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This is a scientific result which provides an objective risk value. Apart from this, there are subjective concepts like risk perception and risk acceptation.

Politics must formulate proper regulations based on the one hand on the objective risk value and on the other hand on the subjective risk acceptation of the Dutch people. However, regulations about dose and dose limits can not be formulated without a few properly defined quantities and units. This is the subject of chapter 7.

An overview of Dutch regulations is presented in chapter 11, specific regulations for devices are given in chapter 12, and the relation to BIG is mentioned in chapter 13. The law is often very generally phrased, which makes it necessary to give more specific guide lines for the working floor. These are mentioned in chapter 14. Finally, in chapter 15, dose calculations are performed for a few standard situations in a dental surgery. They form the basis for a proper risk inventory and evaluation.

The Dutch authorities demand that a Radiation Protection Officer THK-basic (Dutch: Toezichthouder Stralingsbescherming - tandheelkunde-basis) is present in the dental surgery. The required expertise is obtained by acquiring the diploma TS THK-basic (formerly level 5A or 5A/M). Of course, a dentists with such a certificate may act as RPO in his own surgery.