Dental Radiology Regulations and Testing Information

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection regulations regarding radiological health can be found here: 25 PA Code, Chapters 215-221 

State Board of Dentistry (SBOD) regulations state that only licensed dental hygienists and auxiliary personnel who have passed the approved radiologic procedure examination can perform radiological procedures under the supervision of a dentist. Regulations regarding radiologic procedures can be found here: PA Code 49, Chapter 33

Testing

In accordance with the Dental Law, any individual who has passed the Board’s radiologic procedures exam may perform radiologic procedures on the premises of, and under the supervision of a licensed dentist.  A radiologic procedure is a dental diagnostic procedure that utilizes ionizing radiation. 

Currently, the SBOD approved radiologic procedure exam is the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) exam. More information can be found on DANB's website.

After passing the RHS exam, dental auxiliary must retain a copy of their scores indicating a passing score for their records, as well as supply a copy to their employer(s) to keep on file.  

Note: The SBOD no longer requires auxiliary personnel to apply for authorization. In addition, the SBOD no longer registers auxiliary personnel, or issues documentation authorizing auxiliary personnel to perform radiologic procedures. Personnel who registered with the Board previously can verify their registration in the PALS system as evidence of their authority to perform radiologic procedures.  

Prior to adopting the DANB RHS exam, the Board’s approved examination was administered by Experior Assessments/ Thompson Prometric/ Prometric. 

Continuing Education

25 Pa. Code, § 221.11(b) requires that dentists, dental hygienists and auxiliary personnel (who are involved with X-ray procedures) maintain continuing education in radiation safety, biological effects of radiation, quality assurance and quality control. 

The frequency of the continuing education depends on if a facility performs high-risk or low –risk procedures. Dental diagnostic procedures are considered low-risk.

High-risk procedure: Any radiologic procedure that uses energies of less than 1 million electron volts that could exceed skin doses of 200 rad (2.0 Gy). 

Low-risk procedure: Any radiologic procedure that is not a high-risk procedure.

Continuing education for low-risk procedures shall occur at a minimum of every 4 years. High-risk procedures shall occur at a minimum of every 2 years.

Radiation Protection Update CE Course:

You can earn 2 CE credits for completing PDA's online course. In order to receive your certificate of completion, you must pass a quiz based on the content of the course.

Quality Assurance Resources

• Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Minimum Quality Assurance Requirements for Healing Art Radiology Fact Sheet
• Department of Environmental Protection Inspection Log Template
• General Maintenance Log Template
• Repeat Exposure Log Template
• Sample Quality Assurance Program
• Sample Safety Program
• ADA Dental Radiographic Examinations: Recommendations for Patient Selection and Limiting Radiation Exposure

For further information regarding this issue, please contact the PDA Central Office at (717) 234-5941, or email Kathleen Kennedy.

If you are a dentist who is not currently a PDA member, but would like to consider membership, please contact the PDA Central Office at (717) 234-5941.