Dental assistant and pregnant?

im pregnant for 5 weeks already.Our walls in our office...they say are leaded.How much thickness of these walls needed enough for me to protect from radiation?How about light curing unit?

Dental assistant and pregnant?
The following is from a website which has questions answered by qualified medical personnel who are experts in radiation and it's effects. Here is what I found:





"QUESTION: I work in a dental office as a dental assistant and I'm pregnant. I am concerned about radiation and I would like to know how much radiation each dental x ray carries and the amount of radiation that affects the baby. I try to stay far from the x-ray source but I'm concerned about scatter x rays; how far do I have to stay from the x-ray source? Also, do you think a lead apron with 0.3 mm thickness is sufficient to protect my baby from radiation?





ANSWER: Your concern about your radiation exposure during pregnancy is appropriate and appreciated. However, there is little cause for worry. Dental workers are very unlikely to receive much of a measurable occupational dose. There is an occupational dose limit (50 mSv per year—mSv is millisievert and is a unit of radiation dose) but I can share that at my organization, we have not had a dental assistant receive even 1/100th of that (0.5 mSv) and we do many hundreds of dental x rays each year. Most of our dental workers, in fact, receive no measurable radiation exposure on the job.








There are a couple of reasons for this. First, the beam of radiation is coned to the exact spot that needs to be x rayed. So the only thing in the primary x-ray beam is the tooth or teeth of interest. Second, the fact that the beam is so coned down results in very little scatter radiation. In fact, because there is so little scatter radiation, the walls in a dental office generally do not need to have lead shielding in them.





The answer to your question about the 0.3 mm lead-equivalent apron is "yes." This amount of lead will stop 70-75 percent of the x rays in the primary beam and more of the scatter since those x rays have less energy.





Even if you were to be a patient and have some dental x rays done on you, there is no cause for concern for your baby. As well, the radiation exposure you receive in your occupation is too low, if there is any, to cause effects to your baby.





Kelly Classic


Certified Medical Health Physicist"





http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q48...





AND:





"Radiation doses to dental office personnel have been very low, rarely exceeding 1 mSv per year and generally much less than that. In a facility that meets all current recommendations, the operator dose should be less than 0.1 mSv per year. The recommended occupational dose limit for pregnant personnel is 0.5 mSv per month, or 5 mSv during the pregnancy. So there should be little to cause concern. For more details, see "Radiation Protection in Dentistry" a National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements Report. Note that this is still in draft form, subject to change—but any changes should be minor."





http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q97...





"QUESTION: I am a dental hygienist and work with x rays every day. I just found out I am eight weeks pregnant. I am concerned about the effects this may have on my baby. Do you have any information for me?


ANSWER: The U. S. National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) has recommended a limit of 0.5 mSv per month of occupational dose for pregnant radiation workers, including those in dental offices. This compares with 50 mSv per year occupational dose limit for nonpregnant workers. However, the average occupational dose for dental workers in the United States in 1980 was 0.2 mSv per year. It is probably a similar value today. So it is unlikely that you will exceed the limit for pregnant workers. If you are concerned, personnel monitors are available which will measure your dose. The cost is modest. It is inexpensive peace of mind. For more information see the draft report "Radiation Protection in Dentistry" now posted for comment on the NCRP Web site.





Julian S. Gibbs, DDS, PhD"





http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q10...
Reply:You will be fine. as long as you are not in the room when the x ray is being taken. The light for curing is only and ultra violet rays light. no damages to the fetus. We get as little radiation as if we were using the microwave. If you are still worried, ask your ob and talk to your boss. There are places online and at the dental health professionals web sites.
Reply:You should be out of the room when taking x-rays. I wouldn't concern myself with that or the curing light. You shouldn't be in the room when N2O is being used though.