Starting and running a successful dental practice is a challenging process. There are a lot of requirements and regulations that need to be met to be allowed to operate. “Dentists and their teams must comply with regulations issued by multiple agencies at the national, state, and local levels.
Adhering to an effective Quality System, Safety Program, and Ensuring good regulatory practices will ultimately aid your business in operating more efficiently as it safeguards our patients, the members of our dental teams, our practices, and the environment. Staying up-to-date requires constant vigilance.
Complying with these requirements and regulations often becomes complicated and overwhelming. “Many practicing dentists report that knowing all of the applicable regulations and guidelines is one of the most challenging aspects of running a dental practice.
Here is a checklist of Dental Radiology regulatory requirements to adhere to when running your dental practice:
1) Institution Registration:
- Institute (i.e. dental clinic) must register with any one of the agencies which have been accredited by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to provide personnel Radiation monitoring service.The list of agencies is:
- RENENTECH LABORATORIES PVT LTD
- Avanttec Laboratories Pvt Ltd (Chennai)
- Ultratech Laboratories Pvt Ltd(Chhattisgarh)
- The application form should be obtained by contacting any of the above-mentioned agencies and submitted back to the agency as per their submission process.
- Once the form is submitted, the agency will register the institute and send an email with Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) website login credentials to the email id filled in the form.
- Click here for Sample Application Form for Institution Registration and application for TLD:
2) Personnel Monitoring (TLD Badges):
- Details for obtaining TLD badges (dosimeter) for the operators of the dental X-ray equipment should be submitted in the Institute registration form itself.
- It is not mandatory to have a TLD badge for the operators of the dental X-Ray equipment. However, it is important to monitor the radiation exposure on a timely basis to avoid any radiation hazard. Each TLD pouch has 2 components:
- Outer cassette.
- Inner Refill Pouch.
- The inner refill pouch must be replaced by a new Refill pouch on every quarterly basis. The new refill pouch will be provided by the agency and old refill pouch will be sent back to the agency to analyze and provide the TLD reading report.
- Please note: The institute will also be getting a control TLD Badge which has to be kept in the radiation-free area of the clinic.
- TLD USER INSTRUCTION MANUAL get for reference.
3) Machine Registration:
- Once the TLD badge for the operator is obtained and the institute is registered, The X-Ray machine of the clinic has to be registered with AERB as per the instructions mentioned on their site.
- The screen of the X-ray machine page to be added.
4) Periodic Quality Assurance (QA):
- A quality assurance test has to be performed on the X-Ray machine and the results of the same have to be uploaded on the AERB site using the login id and password.
- This test has to be done every 5 years. It is done by agencies that are registered with AERB.
- Screen shot of the Quality Assurance Test page to be added.
- Once the results of the QA test are uploaded, it takes about 30-45 days to obtain a license from AERB to operate the X-Ray machine.
- The license will be accessible on AERB site account.
5) Decommissioning:
It is mandatory to intimate the AERB, in case of withdrawal of the X-Ray unit from service in case of clinic closure or relocation of a clinic.
- Intimation can be sent to AERB through the AERB site account.
Now that you have learned the regulatory requirements in dental radiology, lets put it into practice and ensure a safe environment for us and our patients.
Stay tuned for more information on regulatory requirements in dental practice and key parameters for obtaining NABH accreditation.
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oral hygiene and dental health is a must