Why does my dentist need x-rays and how much radiation am I getting?
Examine the Area before procedures: Dr. Munro needs a full view of your teeth and bone before procedures such as fillings, onlays, crowns, implant restorations, braces, root canals, and extractions. Look for decay between teeth: Sometimes decay isn’t visible to the naked eye and exists in areas the dentist cannot see. Check for bone loss associated with gum disease: Gum disease can can cause bone loss and an x-ray will show how advanced it has become. Check for decay under fillings: Sometimes decay under fillings can occur and can only be seen with an x-ray. Look for infection at the tip of the root: Infections can appear at the very bottom of your teeth where the bone is, which needs to be confirmed using an
Examine the Area before procedures: Dr. Munro needs a full view of your teeth and bone before procedures such as fillings, onlays, crowns, implant restorations, braces, root canals, and extractions.
Look for decay between teeth: Sometimes decay isn’t visible to the naked eye and exists in areas the dentist cannot see.
Check for bone loss associated with gum disease: Gum disease can can cause bone loss and an x-ray will show how advanced it has become.
Check for decay under fillings: Sometimes decay under fillings can occur and can only be seen with an x-ray.
Look for infection at the tip of the root: Infections can appear at the very bottom of your teeth where the bone is, which needs to be confirmed using an x-ray.
X-rays are energy in the form of waves, identical to visible light. In fact the only difference between light and x-rays is that light doesn’t have enough energy to go through your body and x-rays do. A “rem” is used to measure radiation. Advances in x-ray equipment, especially film technology, allow Dr. Munro to get a good x-ray image using much less radiation than was previously required.
A typical dental x-ray image exposes you to only about 2 or 3 mrem. The National Council on Radiation Protections (NCRP) says that the average resident of the U.S. receives about 360 mrem every year from background sources. This comes from outer space, radioactive materials in the earth, and small amounts of radioactive material in most foods we consume. Some typical sources that may expose you to radiation also include smoke detectors (less than 1 mrem per year), living in a brick home instead of a wood home (about 10 mrem per year), cooking with natural gas (about 10 mrem per year), and even from flying on an airplane (about 5 mrem for one cross country flight because of increased altitude). In fact, you receive about 2 mrem per year from sleeping next to someone! We all have very small amounts of naturally occurring radioactive materials in our bodies.
Since Dr. Munro gains valuable information from x-rays to aid you in keeping healthy teeth it is recommended that dental x-rays be taken when your dental health professional finds it necessary.
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