Dental Imaging

Dental imaging takes place in a specific room in the Maxillo-Facial unit on Level B. This is also signposted as Outpatients 11.

Radiographers will take your X-rays.

 

Student radiographers may also be present and take your x-rays under the supervision of a radiographer.

Very little preparation is required however you must have an X-ray request form filled out and signed by your doctor before you come to the department.

Legally, we cannot X-ray you without this documentation. There may be occasions when this information has already been sent to the department i.e. inpatients.

You may be required to remove jewellery in the head and neck region.

If a translator is needed, please contact the department with the necessary requirements prior to the appointment.

The radiographer, or student, will call you in for your X-ray. They will formally identify you and the body part you are expecting to be X-rayed. This is classed as obtaining your verbal consent for the X-rays to take place.

The radiographer will need to position you for your X-rays which can sometimes be a little tricky, but we will adapt our technique if you find you can’t move how we’d like you to.

For certain images, we may need to put a little X-ray film inside your mouth. It may be uncomfortable, but please try and bear with it.

This depends upon how many X-rays your doctor has requested. Most body parts take roughly 5-10 minutes each.

As we are using radiation, we like to keep the number of people in the X-ray rooms to an absolute minimum.

If having a chaperone in the room will aid the staff in obtaining better quality diagnostic images, the radiographer may agree to have one present.

Depending on the level of assistance required as to whether the chaperone will stand behind the lead screen or put on a lead apron and stay with you.

It should be noted that expectant mothers are not permitted to stay in with a child, and also siblings may not accompany a chaperoning parent into the X-ray room.

If there is no other carer available and they cannot be left on their own, we will organise for a staff member to sit with them.

Dentist Patients

You will receive a CD with their imaging on to take back to their dentist who will convey the results to you.

Clinic Patients

You will get the results from the clinic either by appointment or a letter regardless of whether you are going back on the same day or at a later date.

To book appointments, please call:

01483 571 122 ext. 4250