Every intraoral radiograph involves something that enters the patient's mouth, so the X-ray workflow is also part of your infection prevention and control (IPAC) workflow. The Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) requires a barrier on any digital sensor that is not heat-sterilized, and calls for tube-head barriers changed after each patient. Health Canada's Safety Code 30 adds that any film still in use must be E-speed or faster. This guide matches each step to the supplies that support it.
Radiography supplies rarely get much attention, but many of them play a part in infection control. As of October 2026, Ontario practices take radiographs under two sets of guidance that cover different ground. The RCDSO's Standard of Practice: Infection Prevention and Control in the Dental Office (approved November 2018) covers contamination. Health Canada's Radiation Protection in Dentistry: Recommended Safety Procedures for the Use of Dental X-Ray Equipment, Safety Code 30 (published June 30, 2022) covers dose. Health Canada says plainly that Safety Code 30 "does not address... infection control practices." So your practice needs both documents, and supplies that fit both.
What Does the RCDSO Require for Dental Radiography?
The RCDSO standard has a dedicated section on radiography equipment. The main requirements:
- Gloves must be worn when taking radiographs and handling contaminated film packets.
- Film holders and positioning devices "must be sterilized between patients."
- Tube heads and control panels "should be protected with surface barriers that are changed after each patient use." If you don't use barriers, any equipment touched by gloved hands or contaminated film packets must be cleaned and disinfected after each patient.
- Digital sensors and intraoral cameras touch mucous membranes. The RCDSO says they "should be cleaned and heat-sterilized between patients," or else "they must be protected with barriers." After removing a barrier, check the sensor underneath and clean and disinfect it if it is contaminated.
- Manufacturer's instructions for barriers, sterilization and disinfection must be followed.
Digital Sensor Sleeves: Choosing the Right Size
If your sensor manufacturer doesn't allow heat sterilization, the barrier sleeve does the work the RCDSO describes. The product page advises comparing the sleeve dimensions with your sensor and cable. As practical advice, a sleeve that is too narrow can be hard to load, and one that is too short may not cover as much of the cable as you intend.
The EBIKO Digital X-Ray Sensor Sleeves come in three sizes, 500 sleeves per box at $8.99 CAD per box:
- Medium: 1.5 × 8 in (38.1 × 203.2 mm)
- Large: 1.8 × 8 in (45.7 × 203.2 mm)
- X-Large: 2.5 × 10 in (63.5 × 254 mm)
At that price, one sleeve costs under two cents. A sleeve also doesn't replace the sensor maker's cleaning instructions. The product page says so. The RCDSO also requires following the manufacturer's instructions, and Safety Code 30 recommends the manufacturer's cleaners.
Pro Tip: Before ordering a case of sleeves, measure your sensor's width and the length from its tip to where the cable leaves the patient's mouth, then compare those numbers with the sleeve sizes. A size label alone doesn't guarantee fit.
Barriers for the Tube Head and Control Panel
The RCDSO's "change after each patient" expectation for tube heads and control panels is easier to meet with supplies sized for the job:
- Disposable X-Ray Sleeves: clear plastic sleeves for dental X-ray equipment. Large (15 × 26 in, 250/pk) is $34.99 CAD and Universal (23 × 31 in, 200/pk) is $49.99 CAD.
- EBIKO Dental Barrier Film: perforated 4 × 6 in sheets, 1,200 per roll, in blue, white or black, for suitable controls and other high-touch surfaces. Check the equipment maker's guidance on adhesives before you apply film to a control panel.
Barriers reduce contamination, but they don't replace cleaning. If a barrier tears or slips during a series, the RCDSO fallback applies: clean and disinfect the surface after that patient.
Bitewing Tabs and Positioning
Safety Code 30 says an intraoral receptor "should be fixed in position with a holding device, whenever possible." It also says the dental practitioner, the X-ray equipment operator and other staff "must not hold the image receptor in place." For intraoral exams, it adds that a holder with an alignment device should be used, and that rectangular collimation must be used except for occlusal views.
Reusable holders and positioning devices must be sterilized between patients under the RCDSO standard. For bitewings, single-use tabs are an alternative. EBIKO Self-Adhesive Bite Wing Tabs are single-use and disposable, made to fit standard X-ray film and most digital sensors, at $14.99 CAD for 500. A disposable tab is used once and thrown away, so it never needs reprocessing.
Pro Tip: Safety Code 30 recommends a holder with an alignment device for intraoral exams. Tabs don't include one, so if your practice uses tabs, record your reasoning in your radiography protocol.
Still Using Film? Check the Speed
If you still run a film unit, check this requirement. According to Safety Code 30: "For film-based imaging when the implementation of digital radiography is not practicable, E-speed film or faster must be used, and D-speed film must not be used."
If you still take film radiographs in a satellite operatory or a mobile setting, check the speed on your current box. Kodak Carestream Insight intraoral film is listed as F-speed. It comes in sizes 0, 1 and 2, in single- and double-film packets, from $114.99 CAD. For film storage, X-Ray Coin Envelopes #3 measure 2-1/4 × 4-1/4 in and come 500 to a pack for $29.99 CAD.
Film handling also has its own IPAC sequence. The RCDSO standard describes it this way: after exposure, dry the packet with disposable gauze or paper towel, then carry it to the developing area in a container such as a disposable cup. Before opening, either disinfect the packet with an appropriate low-level disinfectant, or open it with gloves on and drop the film onto a clean surface without touching it. Then take off your gloves and perform hand hygiene before developing. A barrier pouch is another option. Developing equipment should be protected with barriers, or cleaned and disinfected if it becomes contaminated.
Receptor Inspection: The Step Supplies Can't Replace
Safety Code 30 requires that intraoral receptors be "cleaned and disinfected after each patient use," and recommends the manufacturer's cleaners and procedures. It also requires that CR and DR receptors be inspected regularly for "wear, warping, dents and cracks." Wired sensors need their cables checked for fraying, and a receptor with a damaged cord "must not be used" until the cord is replaced. Safety Code 30 notes that damaged receptors can cause image artifacts and unnecessary retakes.
Add regular receptor inspection to your team's existing equipment-check routine. For practices in Toronto, Markham, Mississauga and North York that share sensors across several operatories, write down which sensor lives in which room so that damage can be traced to a specific device.
Building a Radiography Supply Kit for Your Ontario Practice
- Sensor sleeves in the size that matches each sensor in the practice
- Tube-head sleeves, and barrier film for suitable controls and high-touch surfaces
- Single-use bitewing tabs, or enough sterilizable holders to cover a full day's patients
- E-speed or faster film, if any film unit remains in use
- Coin envelopes or mounts for film storage
- Your surface disinfectant, chosen according to the sensor and equipment makers' compatibility guidance
- A written receptor-inspection log
EBIKO Dental offers free shipping on orders of $99+ CAD in the GTA, $199+ CAD in Ontario and $299+ CAD anywhere in Canada, plus a price match guarantee. Shop barriers and radiography supplies at EBIKO Dental. Which step in your X-ray workflow causes the most trouble — sleeve fit, holder turnaround or film handling? Tell us, and we'll cover it in a future guide.
Sources
- Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario, Standard of Practice: Infection Prevention and Control in the Dental Office (approved November 2018)
- Health Canada, Radiation Protection in Dentistry: Recommended Safety Procedures for the Use of Dental X-Ray Equipment, Safety Code 30 (2022)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do digital X-ray sensors need a barrier in Ontario?
Yes, unless you heat-sterilize them. The RCDSO says digital sensors should be cleaned and heat-sterilized between patients, or else must be protected with barriers. After you remove the barrier, inspect the sensor, and clean and disinfect it if it is contaminated.
Q: Can Canadian dental offices still use D-speed film?
Health Canada's Safety Code 30 (2022) says that when digital radiography isn't practicable, E-speed film or faster must be used and D-speed film must not be used.
Q: Do X-ray film holders need to be sterilized between patients?
Yes. The RCDSO's IPAC standard says accessories for intraoral radiographs, such as film holders and positioning devices, must be sterilized between patients. Single-use items like disposable bitewing tabs are thrown away after one use.