Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
MEANDROS MEDICAL AND DENTAL JOURNAL, cilt.27, sa.1, ss.116-123, 2026 (ESCI, TRDizin)
Aim: This study aimed to determine the potential radiation doses to which dentists may be exposed when examining or performing interventional procedures on patients who have undergone technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate (99(m)Tc-MDP) bone scintigraphy, primarily performed for the evaluation of bone malignancies. In addition, it sought to identify appropriate radiation protection measures from the perspective of dental practitioners. Materials and Methods: A total of 53 patients who underwent bone scintigraphy were included in this study. Each patient received an average of 925 megabecquerels (MBq) of 99(m)Tc-MDP as a radiopharmaceutical. Two hours after administration, bone scintigraphy imaging was performed. Between 0.5 and 3 hours after imaging, radiation dose rate measurements were obtained from the head-neck, thoracic, and abdominopelvic regions using a radiation detector positioned at distances of 5 cm, 15 cm, 30 cm, 60 cm, and 100 cm. Results: The mean dose rates measured from the thoracic region at 5 cm, 15 cm, 30 cm, 60 cm, and 100 cm were 144.3 +/- 36.9 & micro;Sv/h, 107.2 +/- 16.9 & micro;Sv/h, 73.5 +/- 13.8 & micro;Sv/h, 42.7 +/- 10.0 & micro;Sv/h, and 12.5 +/- 8.7 & micro;Sv/h, respectively. It was estimated that the daily dose to which a dentist would be exposed after approximately 14.5 hours of contact with a patient would be <= 2.75 & micro;Sv. Inter-regional agreement of dose rate measurements was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Agreement was poor at short distances and improved moderately with increasing distance, with ICC(2.1) values ranging from 0.28 to 0.47. It has been determined that dose rate measurements are region-dependent and cannot be used interchangeably between anatomical regions. Conclusion: It was concluded that if a patient who has undergone bone scintigraphy visits a dentist for examination and treatment 3 hours later, the dentist's radiation dose exposure will remain below the limit of 1 mSv/year, however, the limit of 2.75 & micro;Sv/day can be reached in approximately 14.5 hours.