Dental Assistant Radiation Exposure: 4 Things You Need to Know

Woman giving an x-ray

To become a successful dental assistant, you’ll need to know how to perform X-rays. With the 32-hour standalone Dental Radiation Safety Course from Howard Healthcare Academy, you’ll learn how to take, process, and mount X-rays properly.

Here are four things you should know about getting your Dental Radiation Safety Certification online from Howard Healthcare Academy.

Our course teaches you everything you’ll need to know about X-rays.

X-rays enable dentists to evaluate cavities, examine tooth roots, review the status of developing teeth, and much more. As such, dentists frequently use X-rays to identify and address issues inside and outside the mouth.

Our Radiation Safety course explores X-ray safety, the proper X-ray techniques, and other X-ray essentials. That way, you can learn about the importance of X-rays and understand how to perform an X-ray correctly.

You will be able to learn about the dangers associated with radiation exposure.

Although X-rays offer immense value for dentists and patients, they can be dangerous, especially if a dental assistant ignores important radiation exposure precautions.

How Much Radiation is a Dental Assistant Exposed to?

The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) points out that the average effective radiation dose from all sources in the United States is 6.2 millisieverts (mSv) per year. Meanwhile, the California Dental Association (CDA) notes dental offices must take “reasonably adequate” precautions to safeguard both patients and staff against excessive radiation exposure.

Dental Assistant radiation exposure is something to take very seriously. In our Dental Radiation Safety course, you’ll learn about the risks associated with x-ray exposure in dental practices. You’ll also learn about the precautions you can take to prepare yourself and your patient for dental x-rays.

You can receive in-depth insights into each step of the X-ray process.

How do you set up an X-ray machine, then use it to perform an X-ray? After you complete a patient X-ray, how do you retrieve the results? You can find out answers to all of these questions and more by enrolling in our Radiation Safety course.

At Howard Healthcare Academy, our Dental Radiation Safety course is taught by experienced professionals who boast years of experience in the dental industry. Therefore, you’ll be able to receive expert insights into radiation safety that will enable you to understand how to complete each step of the X-ray process effectively.

You can watch X-rays as they are performed in a real-world setting.

Unlike many traditional dental assistant training programs, we offer a Dental Radiation Safety course that blends classroom and on-the-job lessons. That way, you can see how X-rays are performed in a real-world setting and become better prepared to perform the day-to-day duties of a dental assistant.

The Dental Board of California (DBC) enables an individual who is certified in radiation safety to operate dental radiographic equipment under the general supervision of a dentist. Fortunately, having a Dental Radiation Safety Certificationensures you can see how a dental assistant collects an X-ray in a dental office and gain practical experience that may help you perform X-rays successfully after you graduate.

Choose our Dental Radiation Safety course, and you can command new opportunities and better wages as a dental assistant. To enroll in our Radiation Safety course, please call us at (619) ACADEMY or contact us via email at info@howardacademy.edu.

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