Are Dental X-Rays Safe?
At Today’s Dental Comfort, we believe that regular dental visits are essential to the longevity of your oral health. Your oral health is our main concern and we want to ensure that your teeth stay healthy and function properly. When you visit our office for your hygiene examination and cleaning one component of the exam is dental X-rays. Dental X-rays are images of your teeth used to determine the levels of decay in the teeth, if decay is present between the teeth, and to assist during the process of placing dental implants and other needed procedures. Children also receive dental X-rays that are useful in identifying not only tooth decay, but to determine if there is enough room for the adult teeth to emerge. X-rays also help identify if wisdom teeth are present and if they are impacted.
How Safe Are Dental X-Rays?
In recent years, the topic of dental X-rays has come under scrutiny with the concern of radiation. You may not realize it, but radiation is all around us. We are exposed to radiation from the sun, home appliances, and even from minerals in the soil in the garden. This brings us to the question of whether dental X-rays are safe in dentistry. The answer is yes. Due to the technical advancements in dentistry and the use of digital X-rays, there is only a very small amount of radiation emitted. Digital X-rays are safe for adults and children.
The Benefit of Digital X-Rays
Aside from lesser radiation being emitted, the use of digital X-rays offer many benefits to our patients. The images are ready to be viewed immediately and we can determine if the image that is needed is visible or if more images are needed. The images are high quality and can also be enlarged to view smaller areas of the tooth and along the gumline. The patient is also able to view the X-ray and we are able to further explain a needed treatment or concern that is found during the examination.
If you have any questions about the use of X-rays during your next appointment, don’t hesitate to reach out to our office located in Burton, MI. We would love to answer any questions you have to ensure that you feel comfortable during your next visit.
