Introduction:

Dental radiographic examinations use ionizing radiation, which can have adverse health effects in patients and workers occupationally exposed to radiation. Radiological protection seeks to ensure that justification for exposure to ionizing radiation is adequate, so that the patient has a greater benefit than risk. The aim of this article is to review the adverse effects of radiation on humans, to analyze the principle of justification and to provide recommendations for its application in daily dental practice, presenting current clinical guidelines.

Review:

In order to comply with the principle of justification, the choice of each radiographic examination must be made in a responsible manner, based on the individual needs of each patient. This process should be performed jointly between the clinician and the maxillofacial radiologist. Although there are numerous guidelines for different dental specialties, developed by institutions from different parts of the world, few of them are evidence-based guidelines. Guidelines provide recommendations, with different levels of evidence, for the use of radiographic examination, allowing the clinician to select the appropriate exam for each patient, contributing to the reduction of unnecessary exposures.

Conclusions:

Communication between clinician and maxillofacial radiologist is essential to achieve the justification process, and therefore a reduction in radiation doses to patients. In addition, the use of clinical guidelines is necessary for a correct choice of the radiographic examination. More research is needed to justify the use of new imaging technologies in specific indications, to develop clinical evidence-based guidelines.

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