Background: Digital radiography has many advantages over conventional radiography. However, the adaptation of this new technique is still slow. Moreover, safety measures related to radiography remain an important but neglected area of dental practice.
Methods: A questionnaire based study was conducted among dental practitioners of Karachi. Convenience sampling technique was used to draw the sample of 164 general practitioners from Karachi. A 4 part questionnaire was used. Part 1 recorded basic demographic data, while part 2,3 and 4 focused on specific aspects of digital radiography and safety. SPSS version 21 was used for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics was used to calculate frequency and percentage of responses. Chi square test was used to asses associations at a significance level of 0.05.
Results: A total of 164 fully filled forms were included in final analysis. Majority of respondents (n=113, 69%) were users of digital radiography. The main reason (n=36, 70.7%) for not using it was cost of equipment. Main reason for prescribing a CBCT was for implants (n=55, 33.5%). Most respondents (n=99, 60.4%) used lead protection for radiographing pregnant patients. A total of 64 respondents (39%) themselves held xray films in patients mouth. There was significant association (p=0.002) between female gender and not performing radiographs (p=0.005).
Conclusions: Although the adaptation of digital techniques was satisfactory, the radiation safety practices of dental surgeons were inadequate.
Key words: Digital Dental Radiography, Cone Beam Computed Tomography, Radiation Safety
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