Are Dental X-rays Safe?
When dentists look inside patients’ mouths, they can’t see the whole picture. That’s why dental x-rays are so important. X-rays help dentists find problem areas such as cavities, infections, abscesses and cysts that may not be immediately noticeable. By detecting and treating these problems early, your dentist will help you maintain healthy teeth, save you money and time, and reduce discomfort. . X-rays are necessary to monitor growth and development of teeth in children. For adults, they’re an important diagnostic tool to help detect changes from previous dental visits. If you’re a new patient, ask your previous dentist to forward your x-rays; you may not need new X-rays.
There is very little risk from receiving digital dental X-rays. Regular film-based X-rays use a very low level of radiation which is comparable to sunlight. However, with the invention of digital radiography, X-rays expose you to five times less radiation than film-based X-rays. So you are completely safe with x-rays. Digital radiographs are highly valuable to find hidden decay, tumors and determine growth patterns.
Fortunately, the dose of radiation you are exposed to during the taking of X-rays is extremely small. Even with the newest advancements in safety, it should be kept in mind, however, that the effects of radiation are added together over a lifetime. So every little bit of radiation you receive from all sources counts.
Today we use Digital Dental Radiography. With Digital Dental Radiography we can do X Rays more comfortably and with 70% to 90% less radiation. Improved accuracy means we have to re-expose our patients less often. Theres no film to develop, and in a few seconds both you and Dr. Hudimac can be discussing a computerized image thats easy to read and helps us communicate your problems clearly.
