We often ask ourselves questions about the amount of radiation to which we are exposed when taking x-rays at the dentist’s clinic and their real necessity considering the adverse effects they have on our health.
Dental x-rays
Above all, we must consider the reasons for taking them. X-rays are an indispensable tool to diagnose problems that cannot be seen with the naked eye. In particular, they are important for identifying caries between teeth or under old fillings, the position of impacted wisdom teeth, the bone level between teeth, lesions or infections affecting the bone … That’s why dental examination cannot be considered complete without radiographs.
If we talk about the amount of radiation, the chart below shows an approximate comparison with other sources of radiation that we face in our daily lives. It can be seen that the amount of radiation to which we are exposed at the dentist’s office is very small and still far from the dangerous threshold. In addition, digital radiology today has allowed us to reduce the dose by more than 50%.
Although the emitted radiations are already very small, dental practices take every precaution needed to minimize them even more. Consequently, unnecessary radiographs are avoided; lead aprons or collars are used for the patient and the dose of each shot X-rays is reduced as much as possible.