Development of a computational code for calculations of shielding in dental facilities

This paper is prepared in order to address calculations of shielding to minimize the interaction of patients with ionizing radiation and / or personnel. The work includes the use of protection report Radiation in Dental Medicine (NCRP-145 or Radiation Protection in Dentistry), which establishes calculations and standards to be adopted to ensure safety to those who may be exposed to ionizing radiation in dental facilities, according to the dose limits established by CNEN-NN-3.1 standard published in September / 2011. The methodology comprises the use of computer language for processing data provided by that report, and a commercial application used for creating residential projects and decoration. The FORTRAN language was adopted as a method for application to a real case. The result is a programming capable of returning data related to the thickness of material, such as steel, lead, wood, glass, plaster, acrylic, acrylic and leaded glass, which can be used for effective shielding against single or continuous pulse beams. Several variables are used to calculate the thickness of the shield, as: number of films used in the week, film load, use factor, occupational factor, distance between the wall and the source, transmission factor, workload, area definition, beam intensity, intraoral and panoramic exam. Before the application of the methodology is made a validation of results with examples provided by NCRP-145. The calculations redone from the examples provide answers consistent with the report