Any dental hygienists?

Question

Hey! I'm wondering if there are any dental hygienists out there who are pregnant. I am 7 weeks pregnant with my first and have not told my employer yet (waiting for doctors appointment next week). My question is... what are your thoughts on taking X-rays while pregnant? I make sure I am always out of the room and behind a wall when X-rays are exposed but ever since I got pregnant I am nervous about exposure.

Answer

I'm an assistant and this is #3 for me. I've always worked up till the end and taken countless x-rays. Just make sure your behind the wall.  During my second I worked with a Dr in nursing homes once a week, I used a nomad, I held the nomad while he held the sensor, I was behind the shot and felt pretty good about it. Hope this helps a little!

Answer

I'm an xray tech, and my thoughts are it's ok to take xrays as long as you take extra precautions :) Being out of the room and behind the shield is great, especially if it is at least 6 feet away. I would also suggest wearing a lead shield yourself, or at least a gonadal shield. Remember that the further along you are, the safer it is. Also a fun fact: The amount of radiation we use in a 2-view chest x-ray (the most radiation we use) is the same amount as in a one-way flight from New York to California.

No amount of radiation is considered "safe," just keep it in perspective, be careful with it, and do what you're comfortable with :) Here is my favorite chart that compares the amount of radiation in our daily exposure to that used in the medical field. Dental xray is in the top left:

Answer

I was an RDH for 6 years... "Retired" from hygiene about 6 months ago (at 27) because I knew I could handle it while preggo. 12 hour work days in an extremely fast paced office and only 4 weeks maternity leave (if you took longer, you were "let go" and rehired with a new start date and no benefits for 90-days). The market is very flooded in Jacksonvolle, FL and full
Time positions are very hard to come by.  I started my MBA almost 2 years ago and will be done in May.  So long as your out of the room scatter radiation is minimal... But I can definitely see how it would still stress you out!

Answer

I'm a vet but we use digital dental xrays in practice and I was told that the amount of radiation is so minimal, that patients themselves don't really even need to be drapped as the secondary scatter is so minimal.  So if you're behind a wall, I'm sure you're fine!

Any dental hygienists?

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