What equipment may a dental assistant use to take x-rays?
Section 89.45 of the Administrative Rules and Regulations for Public Health state that a dental assistant may operate conventional radiographic dental equipment in which the diameter of the x-ray beam at the patient’s face is limited to not more than 3 inches. He or she may also operate panoramic dental equipment of the laminographic extraoral tube and film type, provided that the use of this equipment is for the sole purpose of routine dental radiography. * IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL INDIVIDUALS TAKING X-RAYS: Please note that effective March 12, 2007, Education Law requires any dentist or dental hygienist performing dental x-rays must not only shield the torso but must also shield the thyroid area of the patient unless in the dentist’s professional judgment the use of a thyroid collar would be inappropriate under the circumstances, because of the nature of the patient, the type of x-ray being taken, or other factors. Although the law does not specifically state that dental assistants mu
