Survey: Lead shielding in dental x-rays in 2024

In late 2023 and early 2024, the dental profession saw a change that had quietly been in the works for some time—major professional organizations were coming out to recommend against the routine use of lead shielding such as aprons during dental x-rays. 

At the time, DentistryIQ reported,

Per an expert panel established by the American Dental Association, it's no longer recommended for dental practitioners to use lead abdominal aprons or thyroid collars on patients when taking dental x-rays.

According to a press release on the recommendations released on Feb. 1, dental professionals are also advised to consider the diagnostic information needed from x-rays to benefit patient care or substantially improve clinical outcomes: “The central point of these recommendations is that clinicians should order radiographs in moderation to minimize both patients’ and dental professionals’ exposure to ionizing radiation,” said Purnima Kumar, DDS, PhD, chair of the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs, which established the panel that developed the recommendations.

After reviewing numerous published studies on radiography, notes the press release, the panel “determined lead aprons and thyroid collars are not necessary to shield patients from radiation exposure,” with evidence indicating that modern digital x-ray equipment that restricts the beam size to the area that needs to be imaged adequately protects patients against radiation exposure to other parts of their body.

For both patients and providers who saw the lead apron as a symbol of safety and care, this change was difficult to process. More than that, many states, such as California, actually still require the use of lead shielding for x-rays. 

Since about a year has gone by, we wanted to check in with the dental profession and ask if you were still routinely using lead shieldng. Let us know below and we'll share the results with you in an upcoming issue of our Morning Briefing newsletter.

And if you're curious, here's how a banana compares to radiation exposure from a dental x-ray.