The status of Spain's dental practice following the European Union directive concerning radiological installations: 11 years on (1996–2007)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the influence of European Union legislation on dental radiology practice in Spain and the reduction in doses administered in dental radiological installations 11 years after its introduction. Methods: A total of 19 079 official reports on dental surgeries from 16 Spanish autonomous regions published between 1996 and 2007 were studied. We analysed the physical characteristics of the X-ray units, anomalies, film processing, exposure times and mean radiation doses administered in clinical situations. Results: The dose applied to obtain a radiograph of an upper second molar had decreased by 37% up until 2007, the mean dose being 2.7 mGy, with 81.1% of installations using a dose of less than 4 mGy, with a reference dose for the 3rd quartile of 3.6 mGy. Of note was the incorporation of digital systems (50.1%), which are gradually replacing manual processing systems (45.3%). There were significant differences between the systems: direct digital radiology < indirect...