Dental X-Rays: Benefits & Safety

Dental radiographs (most often called x-rays) are an important part of your dental care. Along with an oral examination, they provide your dentist with a more complete view of what’s happening in your mouth.

X-rays tend to have a negative stigma because the patient is exposed to radiation. However, it's important to keep in mind that it is a very minimal amount of radiation, and x-rays are taken to benefit you and your overall health!

Benefits of Dental X-Rays

A dental x-ray gives your dentist a picture of your hard tissues (teeth and bones) and the soft tissues that surround your teeth and jawbones. For example, dental x-rays may help your dentist see:

• cavities & decay that develops between the teeth or under restorations (fillings)
• diseases in the bone
• periodontal (gum) disease
• infections that develop under your gums
• some types of tumors

Dental x-rays can alert your dentist to changes in your hard and soft tissues. In children, x-rays allow the dentist to see how their teeth and jawbones are developing. Like medical x-rays, dental x-rays allow your dentist to evaluate any injuries to your face and mouth. Dental x-rays can help your dentist identify diseases and developmental problems before they become serious health issues. Early detection of an infection or injury also can limit or prevent further damage to other areas of the mouth.

          

      

Safety of Dental X-Rays

Some people wonder if dental x-rays are safe because they expose the patient to radiation. Several factors and practices work together to make dental x-rays safe. The amount of radiation used to obtain dental x-ray is very small. For example, bitewing x-rays—two to four images of the back teeth -- expose a patient to about 0.005 millisieverts (mSv) of radiation (a millisievert is a unit of measure). By comparison, because radiation is part of our environment, people in the United States are exposed, on average, to 3.2 mSv every year from background sources of radiation. Dentists follow the ALARA principle, which stands for “As Low As Reasonably Achievable,” when obtaining x-rays. This radiation safety principle limits your exposure by incorporating the following techniques:

• use of the fastest image receptor (that is, the fastest film speed or digital speed)
• reduction in the size of the x-ray beam to the size of the image receptor whenever possible
• use of proper exposure and processing techniques
• use of leaded aprons and when possible, thyroid collars (shields organs from radiation exposure; thyroid collar shields thyroid gland)

If you are seeing a new dentist, be sure to provide him or her with copies of your existing x-rays to avoid duplicating them. This also will help limit your exposure to radiation.

Your dentist will decide when x-rays are needed on the basis of your oral examination findings, any symptoms you report, a review of your health history, your risk of experiencing oral disease, your age, or any combination of the preceding. Because of the low radiation dose associated with dental radiographs, people who have received radiation treatment for head and neck cancer can undergo dental radiography safely. In fact, head and neck radiation treatment can increase the risk of developing tooth decay, making the x-rays all the more important for these patients.

If you are pregnant, tell your dentist. During your pregnancy, you may need to have x-rays taken as part of your treatment plan for a dental disease that requires immediate attention. Use of the leaded apron and collar will protect you and your fetus from radiation exposure.

Why digital x-rays  better: The digital dental X-ray system is more sensitive than dental X-ray film systems, so your exposure to radiation is significantly reduced, in many cases by as much as 90 percent. The large, color-enhanced images let you see what your dentist sees, so it’s easier for you to understand how your dentist will treat your teeth. There is no use of photo chemicals, film, processing or film storage making digital x-rays more efficient and less harmful to the environment. Dental checkups take less time and are more educational! Most patients are amazed.

See how amazingly clear and large this x-ray is? Woohoo - we can see EVERYTHING and keep your smile as healthy as can be!

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