Introduction: Pharyngeal reflex is an irritating factor at intraoral dental imaging. Of course this phenomenon and its degree depends on several factors. A radiographer has a great role to play in this, as various methods can prevent, or at least alleviate, the pharyngeal reflex. Purpose: We wanted to determine the influence of gender, areas of imaging and experiences of a radiographer on the occurrence of the pharyngeal reflex. In addition, we wanted to find out, which techniques radiographers use to alleviate the pharyngeal reflex, and compare the mitigation techniques according to the work experiences of radiographers. Methods: In this master's thesis, a combination of a survey and structured observation was used. The survey was carried out by five radiographers from four health centers during a three-month time frame. They recorded their observations and answered two open-type questions. The data has then been processed with the SPSS statistical program. Results: Pharyngeal reflex occurred at 61 patients of 2761 total; 55 of which felt the reflex in transcanine and 6 in intercanine region. During the imaging of the upper molars region, pharyngeal reflex appeared at 23 patients. Imaging of other areas resulted in pharyngeal reflex at 38 patients. Gender did not affect the phenomenon of pharyngeal reflex. Of all the patients, whose teeth were imaged intraorally, the pharyngeal reflex appeared at 2.2 % in both sexes. Of those, the pharyngeal reflex in the area of the upper molars occurred at 39,3 % of males and at 36,4 % of females. Radiographers with up to three years of work experience imaged a total of 670 patients; the pharyngeal reflex occurred at 29 patients. Meanwhile, the radiographers with more than three years of work experience reported the pharyngeal reflex occurring at 32 patients, out of 2059 total. The most common method of alleviating pharyngeal reflex by all participating radiographers, regardless of the amount of their respective work experience, is to instruct the patients to soothe their breathing. Discussion and conclusion: According to the results, special attention should be paid by the radiographers when imaging sensitive areas. Knowledge about the techniques of alleviating the pharyngeal reflex should be made more accessible, perhaps even included in related conferences and seminars.
|