Are you concerned about dental x-rays?
We have prepared this article to offer some facts about low dose computerized digital dental X-rays for your care and protection. With digital x-rays, your exposure is minimized by approximately 90%.
The following exposure of bone marrow to radiation during typical medical and dental x-ray examinations is listed below in millirems, a measurement of radiation. Take a look at how digital dental X-rays compare to other forms of diagnostic films.
The annual maximum occupational exposure for U.S. radiation workers is 5,000 millirems.
High Dose Group (millirems)
Abdomen CT: 1,000
Pelvimetry to evaluate birth canal: 600
Skull CT: 100-200
Medium Dose Group (millirems)
Cervical Spine (Neck): 15-80
Hip: 72
Mammography breast examination: 40
Skull: 10-20
Low Dose Group (millirems)
Dental CT: 20-60
Dental Panoramic image: 0.7-2
Dental full mouth series: 1-4
Dental bitewing: less than 0.05
To put things in perspective, you would have to take almost 100,000 dental x-rays to reach your maximum safe yearly dose! Each time you fly from coast to coast on an airplane, you receive 3.5 millirems of background radiation, or the equivalent of 70 digital computerized dental bitewing x-rays. Daily, you receive background radiation from concrete buildings, roads, and of course, the sun! Just standing around outside for several minutes, you receive more than 3 bitewing x-rays worth of radiation! Low doses spread out over a period are not as harmful as larger doses at once because the body has time to recover.
What more, the study “Subjecting Radiologic Imaging to the Linear No-Threshold Hypothesis: A Non-Sequitur of Non-Trivial Proportion” by Siegel, JA, Penning, CW, et al, is one of the most effective academic studies assessing the risk and benefits of dental radiation. The stunning findings are as follows:
Evidence of cancer risk from radiologic imaging is non-existent. Low dose radiation does not cause, but more likely helps prevent cancer.
Actual risk arises from radiophobia through patients’ fear and avoidance of radiographic imaging.
When weighing these facts against the serious consequences of cavities, gum disease, abscesses, and oral cancer that can go undetected without dental x-rays, plus the additional x-rays that would be needed to treat those conditions, there is no question having low dose digital dental x-rays taken is safe and effective!
Interestingly, as of February 2024, the American Dental Association has taken a new stance on the subject of dental x-rays: the lead apron and thyroid collar are no longer required, nor recommended!
This precedent applies to all dental-related x-rays, regardless of whether it is a single tooth x-ray, or an entire CT scan of the head and neck, and it applies to all people, of all medical conditions – including pregnancy. This decision comes following the discovery by oral and maxillofacial radiologists that the amount of radiation a person experiences during a digital dental x-ray is so small, it is almost entirely confined to the area captured – such as a single tooth and the cheek in front of it. What more, even large CT scans have advanced so far with their technology that any radiation remains limited to the focused area, without scatter to the rest of the body – let alone to other people nearby.
The use of a lead apron or thyroid collar was found to cause people to experience more radiation because of sliding or incorrect positioning, therefore obscuring an x-ray image and requiring it to be retaken.
We now have a new breakthrough distinguishing new dentistry from the ways of the old. If you encounter a dental office that practices this or gives you the option, this is the reasoning why. May it be of good use to you!
Thank you for entrusting your dental health to our nation’s experts. Be assured we will always do our very best to treat you carefully and safely.
This message brought to you by Canepa Dentistry and Dr. Colt Canepa, proudly providing dentistry to Jensen Beach, Stuart, Hutchinson Island, Port St. Lucie, and Martin County.