J Dent Hyg Sci.  2022 Jun;22(2):75-82. 10.17135/jdhs.2022.22.2.75.

Radiography Work Performed by Dental Hygienists according to the Workplace Type

• Park BY
• Yoon MS

• KMID: 2530859
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.17135/jdhs.2022.22.2.75

Abstract

Background
Dental hygienists study dental radiology through the dental hygiene department and curriculum, and most of the radiography work in dental clinics is performed by dental hygienists; however, the legal work regulations for dental hygienists place restrictions on the type of radiography performed. This study aimed to identify the actual conditions of the radiographic work performed by dental hygienists and to determine the difference according to the type of hospital.
Methods
This study included 195 dental hygienists working at dental medical institutions in the metropolitan area. A survey was conducted on regarding the radiographic work performed and the clinical career of the main performers. The radiography work was divided into periapical radiography, bite-wing radiography, occlusal radiography, panoramic radiography, computed tomography (CT), and cephalometric radiography.
Results
The frequency of performing intraoral radiography was as follows: periapical radiography, 94.9%; bite-wing radiography, 93.8%; and occlusal radiography, 77.9%. The frequency of performing extraoral radiography was 94.4% for panoramic radiography, 89.7% for CT, and 73.3% for cephalometric radiography. The frequency of internal and external radiography performance was higher among hygienists in dental clinics than among those in dental hospitals and university hospitals. The analysis of the dental hygienists’ clinical experience in the areas of intraoral and extraoral radiography showed that those working at university hospitals, dental hospitals, and dental clinics had over 5 years, 2∼4 years, and 1 year of clinical experience, respectively. The hygienists with less than 1 year of clinical experience showed high performance frequency (p<0.05).
Conclusion
For the dental hygienists to perform radiography safely, a discussion regarding the revision of related laws and regulations is warranted.

Keyword

Dental clinic; Dental hygienist; Dental radiography