HLTDEN002 Assist with Dental Radiography Case Study

HLTDEN002 Assist with dental radiography
Case Study Version 1.2 (2017/08/21)
HLTDEN002 Assist with dental radiography
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Assessment
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Please read through the following case study. Reflect on your learning and your own research
within this unit.
Prepare a response that responds to each of the issues presented below. Your responses must
reflect your knowledge, skills, and application for this unit.
Case Study 1
You have seated the patient and provided them with the lead apron and thyroid collar. You ask
the patient to stay still when you leave the room so that there will be no movement of the film
packet during exposure. The patient wants to know why you and the operator leave the room
during the exposing of the radiograph and why she needs to have this heavy apron on her. How
do you respond to her without making her fearful of the dose of radiation?
1. Detail to the patient the reason why you provide the lead apron with a thyroid collar for her
to use during radiation exposure.
The lead apron is provided so as to protect a patient or any other person from being exposed
to radiation. The heavy apron protects the covered body organs in addition to minimizing the
overall body effective dosed resulting from exposure. The thyroid collar is also used during
radiation to protect the thyroid from the minimal exposure risk in addition to minimizing the
overall effective dose by a factor ranging between 1.7 and 3. The high exposure dose is
caused by oblique views and an increased distance of the image intensifier from the patient
and table. Radiation exposure leads to several health complications such as cancer, radiation
sickness among others (Dagal, 2011).
2. Explain to the patient why you and the operator leave the room for every patient during the
exposure of radiation.
The health experts administering the radiation leave the room because they do not have the
protective gears on, and the room is smaller to enable them keep the standard 2m distance
from the source of the radiation. Also, the radiation source can lead to an increased
exposure dose being caused by the lateral or oblique views and the distance of the image
intensifier from the table and patient. Therefore, during the exposure of radiation, the
patient is adequately protected whereas the health experts are not, hence for the reason for
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HLTDEN002 Assist with dental radiography
Case Study Version 1.2 (2017/08/21)
their moving out.
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