Radiology plays an important part in dental health practice; however the use of radiation as an aid to diagnosis must be balanced against the risks to both patients and dental operating staff from exposure to ionizing radiation. Although the radiation dose from an individual dental radiograph is relatively small, but when a large number of radiographs are taken means that the overall population dose is not insignificant. The international and National bodies- the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other scientific platform recognize the importance of education and training of the staff in reducing patient doses while maintaining the desired level of quality in medical and dental exposures. Hence, this article in particular discusses the magnitude of radiation exposure encountered in dentistry, the possible risk with such exposure and the methods that can be used to attenuate exposure and decrease the radiation dosage.