§ Mr. Fauldsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he intends to take following the report in the bulletin of the National Radiological Protection Board, Harwell, that a high proportion of dental examinations using X-rays is being carried out in many surgeries to the risk of patients, dentists and staff.
§ Sir K. JosephThis statement appeared in a brief newspaper report of an article in the board's October quarterly bulletin which made reservations about the information quoted, particularly the nature of the samples from which it was obtained, and was mainly intended to describe a new service provided by the board to enable dental practitioners to test the safety of their X-ray equipment. I am aware of the need for radiological protection in dentistry as in other fields, and have sent to all practitioners in the general dental services of the National 315W Health Service a circular drawing their attention to dental aspects of the Code of Practice for the Protection of Persons against Ionizing Radiations arising from Medical and Dental Use. My Standing Dental Advisory Committee has also set up a sub-committee to prepare a booklet specifically for dental practitioners on dental radiological protection.