Risk assessment: the philosophy underlying radiation protection.

Our present understanding of the role of ionizing radiation in the induction of malignant disease and genetic disorders has taken many years to develop. Over this period there has been a considerable degree of international collaboration in producing recommendations for good practice, and today many countries have legislation which aims to protect both the user of a dental x-ray set and the patient from receiving unnecessary doses of radiation. It is, however, not possible to eliminate completely the stochastic risks and considerable effort is being expended to see that these risks are minimized. In the case of the dentist using the set, it is important to ensure that these risks are small compared to other risks of everyday life. In the case of the patient it is vital to ensure that the benefits of a radiographic examination outweight the risks. A number of fatal malignancies are likely to be induced each year as a result of the use of dental radiology, and it is very necessary that there is proper clinical justification for every radiograph. The dental profession must ensure that the collective dose to the population is kept as low as reasonably achievable.