Why do I need an X-ray?
There’s a lot going on in your mouth that is not visible to the naked eye, and dental X-rays allow your dentist to see what’s happening below the surface. By taking X-rays, your dentist is provided with a comprehensive assessment of the health of your mouth.
No visible signs of trouble
Tooth decay can be sneaky – it doesn’t tend to show physical signs of its presence early on.
X-rays are an important diagnostic tool that allows your dentist to confirm if you have tooth decay, or if you have any problems such as infection around the roots of the tooth, or bone loss. Spotting it early means your dentist can deal with the problem before it becomes a significant issue.
Safe for everyone
Regardless of whether you’re a child or an adult, you can have X-rays safely taken of the inside and outside of your mouth. The amount of radiation involved is extremely low, and is equivalent to the sort of exposure you’d receive on a 1-2 hour flight. This means that even if you’re pregnant you can have X-rays taken, although they are generally kept to a minimum during this period.
Oh, and that thing about the Radiographer leaving the room while the X-rays are taken? Nothing to worry about there – they’re taking lots of X-rays all day long and stepping out of the room limits their ongoing exposure to radiation.
Why X-rays are needed
The types of X-rays your dentist will refer you for will depend on the conditions they are assessing you for. The decision to take an X-ray, and the type of X-ray taken, will be influenced by such things as your past and present oral health, an examination of your mouth, your age, risk of disease and any early symptoms of oral disease.
What can dental X-rays detect?
• Small areas of decay between teeth not visible in the mouth
• Problems with existing fillings, root canals, crowns or bridges
• The presence and severity of gum disease
• Abscesses or other sorts of infections
• Tooth development issues such as malformed teeth, extra or missing teeth etc.
• Cysts and some types of tumours
• Traumatic injuries such as tooth and bone fractures
• Proximity of teeth to nerves and sinuses
• The development of wisdom teeth and if there is a need for them to be removed
Patient information
We accepts all referrals
Please bring your referral and Medicare Card - we bulk bill ALL eligible services
If your examination relates to Workers Compensation or MAIB, please bring details with you
We are conveniently located in The Imperial Arcade - opposite the Collins St entrance to Cat & Fiddle. You will find us in between South on Collins Café and The Cracked and Spineless Bookshop
Easy, level access for patients
Naturally occurring background radiation
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While patients may receive a radiation dose from a medical imaging procedure, many people are unaware that radiation is actually found all around us all the time – in the soil, the air, plants, buildings etc. This is called background radiation.
A Sievert (Sv) is the unit which measures the effective dose in terms of overall risk due to the radiation. Our exposure from background radiation in Australia is about 2 milliSieverts (mSv) a year. Background radiation dose varies worldwide but generally ranges from 1 – 10 mSv, and can be as much as 20 mSv. The average is 2.4 mSv.
While dose from medical imaging varies too, it still represents only a very small fraction of our lifetime exposure to background radiation.
The risk level of developing cancer from medical imaging radiation represents a very small addition to the 1 in 3 chance we all have of developing cancer in our lifetime.
Patient Feedback and Complaints
Introduction
· The Safety and Quality Governance Standard for consumer feedback and complaints management has been based on the NSQHS (National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards). As supported through widespread use of the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights, customer feedback and complaints assists in improving the quality of diagnostic imaging service provision.
Objectives
· To ensure Hobart Dental Imaging is committed to keeping the management of feedback and complaints consistent with the principals of open disclosure and fairness, accessibility, responsiveness, efficiency and integration.
Policy
· Complaints made by patients, referrers or relevant third parties about Hobart Dental Imaging staff or practice principal will at all times be considered serious. Patient Feedback and Complaints Policy and forms will be on display in the practice and available to all patients. Patient Feedback and Complaints Policy and forms are also available on https://hobartxray.wixsite.com/website.
· All complaints made by patients, referrers or relevant third parties will be recorded in the Practice Complaints Register by either the Diagnostic Radiographer/Medical Imaging Technologist, Office Manager or delegate where relevant.
· Patients, referrers or relevant third parties who wish to lodge a formal complaint regarding a staff member will be requested to submit the complaint to the practice principal in writing on Hobart Dental Patient Feedback and Complaints form. The practice principal is responsible for the investigation of the complaint. The practice principal will notify the complainant (in writing) within 14 business days of the outcomes and resolutions of the complaint.
· Verbal complaints by patients, referrers or relevant third parties will be responded to (where possible) immediately by the relevant senior staff member or practice principal.
· Where patients, referrers or relevant third parties have provided their contact details on the Patient Feedback and Complaints form, Hobart Dental Imaging will respond in writing to patient feedback within 14 business days.
· To achieve our objectives, Hobart Dental Imaging use three methods for receiving and recording feedback and complaints:
o A Customer Feedback and Complaints Form, and
o A Complaints Handling Register.
o Practice staff training in managing and responding to feedback and complaints
Procedure
· Complaints Procedure
If a complaint is received by the Practice, the complainant must be advised of this policy and procedure and expected resolution times. If the complaint is about a matter which can be resolved immediately without reference to others, then the staff member is expected to take the necessary action. Staff members are to seek clarification from the Practice Principal or delegate where required.
Corrective action will take place within two days or as soon as possible. Staff members must ensure the complaint or feedback is recorded on the Customer Feedback and Complaints Form and included on the Complaints Handling Register.
· Obtaining Feedback
Hobart Dental Imaging seeks client feedback by:
o Encouraging patients and carers to complete feedback forms
o Undertaking periodic surveys
Feedback is periodically reviewed and assessed contributing to continuous improvement processes.
Reference documents:
Department of Health Practice Accreditation Standards 3rd edition: 1.1 & 4.3
Other: NSQHS (National Safety and Quality in Health Service Standards), Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights, Customer Feedback and Complaints Form, Complaints Handling Register.
Feedback and Complaints Form
Thank you for taking the time to comment, your feedback is important to us.
Date / Day / Time of visit: __________________________________________________________
Your comments about the facilities:
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
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Your comments about the staff:
Excellent
Good
Average
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On a scale of 1 to 10, please circle the number that describes your overall view of the service and care you received at this health service.
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