Dental Inspections (General Information)

• Currently all dental facilities are inspected every three years.
• The dental facilities are contacted and appointments are scheduled up to 30 days in advance.
• It is the dentist’s discretion whether patients should be scheduled during the time of an inspection. However, it is more convenient for the inspector if patients are not scheduled due to the equipment used by the inspector and to ensure accessibility of the room(s).
• An unannounced inspection could be held if there is a complaint from an employee or the general public.
• If the radiation machine has more than one tube head it should be denoted on the tube head and the control panel when in use.
• All operators must be licensed through the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Included in the Dental Inspection

Radiation Machine

• Minimum Patient Exposure
• Operator Protection
• Protective Apparel Available
• Timer Accuracy and Reproducibility
• Exposure Reproducibility
• Minimum Filtration (Half value Layer)
• Field Size

Administrative

• Current Registration
• Personnel Monitoring
• Notice to Employee Posting
• Registration Certificate
• Preventative Maintenance Documentation (up to date service reports)

Film Processing

• Development Speed
• Film Fog
• Chemistry Log
• Film Processing Quality Assurance

Time Required for Dental Inspection

• 30 minutes per Intraoral
• 45 minutes per Panoral
• 45 minutes per Cephalometric
• 45 minutes for film processing

Documentation that Must Be Available for Review During Inspection​

1. Radiation Machine Registration Form (RX1) – must be available
2. Registration Certificate – must be posted
3. Personnel Monitoring Records – must be available
   Monitoring Requirements: Use individual monitoring devices (film badges)
   - If turned in monthly, then monitor for 6 consecutive months
   - If turned in quarterly, then monitor for 4 consecutive quarters
4. Notice to Employees – must be posted
5. Up to date preventive maintenance service report for each machine - must be available
6. Log of processing solution changes showing when processor was cleaned, solutions changed,
   and maintenance performed - must be available
7. Hand-Held X-Ray Device Use Log - must be available

Contact Information

For additional information, please contact Eva Nair at 410-537-3193 or at eva.nair@maryland.gov.