REFERRAL GUIDELINES
Entitled referrers
All referrers must be GDC/GMC registered dental or medical practitioners who have completed CBCT Level 1 and Level 2 training in accordance with the current PHE/FGDP guidelines (Guidance Notes for Dental Practitioners on the Safe Use of X-Ray Equiopment 2nd Edition, 2020).
Referrals will only be accepted from referrers who have been entitled to refer as detailed in Cavendish House's Employer's Procedures.
All referrers must enter into a Service Level Agreement before referrals can be accepted.
Full clinical information, along with information to allow patient identification, must be included in each referral. If essential information is missing, the referral will be returned or more details sought.
Referral guidelines for dental CBCT
There are several documents which can be used to provide referral guidelines for dental CBCT. The European Academy of Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology (EADMFR) produced Consensus Guidelines include a list of Basic Principles for dental CBCT use, seven of which are relevant to referrals for dental CBCT.
The European Commission published evidence-based guidelines on the use of dental CBCT in 2012, and the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) published the third edition of their Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography guidelines in 2013 (updated 2018) which includes aspects of the use of CBCT.
Both the FGDP(UK) guidelines and the European guidelines are suitable for use as referral guidelines for dental CBCT. In terms of specific areas of practice, referral guidelines for dental CBCT have been developed for orthodontics, implant dentistry and endodontics. An extensive list of potentially useful publications, including referral guidelines for dental CBCT, is contained within a review from 2015.