A Day At The Beach Is Like A Day At The Dentist

Parents are sometimes surprised to learn that playing out in the sun exposes their child to the same amount of radiation used to take dental x-rays. So before you make a decision on whether or not to have x-rays taken at your child’s next dental visit, read more about its safety.

X-ray Safety

X-ray technology has provided immeasurable diagnostic benefits to the medical and dental community. Doctors can now identify and prevent the progression of disease at earlier stages. With the development of digital imaging technology, the amount of radiation exposure in routine dental x-rays is now considered negligible.

A comparison of our daily natural environmental radiation exposure with the amount of radiation in dental x-rays will help in understanding the risks and benefits encountered during your child’s routine dental check-ups.

According to the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, the average American receives an effective dose of 3 millisieverts (mSv) per year from naturally occurring radioactive materials and cosmic radiation from outer space. Naturally occurring radioactive materials can be found in the air that we breathe and the food that we eat. Cosmic radiation is that which we receive from the sun in the form of UVA/UVB wavelengths.

For a child who is in their primary dentition and has not yet lost their first baby tooth, the dental x-rays indicated to be taken by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), are two bitewings and two periapical. The total amount of radiation for this set is 0.008 mSv. If a child has one or more adult teeth then a panoramic x-ray is indicated in addition to the bitewing and periapical x-rays. The amount of radiation exposure in a single panoramic x-ray is 0.007 mSv.

Following are comparisons of effective radiation dose with naturally-occurring environmental radiation exposure:

Procedure/source of exposure Approximate radiation dose Comparable to natural environmental radiation for: *Additional lifetime risk of fatal cancer
CT Head Scan

2 mSv

8 months

Very Low

Mammography

0.4mSv

7 weeks

Very Low

Chest X-ray

0.1 mSv

10 days

Negligible

Coast to coast flight in a commercial airplane

0.03 mSv

3 days Negligible
2 bitewing and 2 periapical dental x-rays

0.005 mSv

1 day

Negligible

Panoramic X-ray

0.007 mSv

1 day

Negligible

Depending on your child’s dental health and history, the AAPD recommends that children have dental x-rays taken as soon as their teeth touch, and proximal services cannot be visualized or probed. Then, once every 12-18 months, thereafter, and more frequently when there is past experience of tooth decay or an increased risk for tooth decay. Examples of factors that increase the risk for tooth decay are poor oral hygiene, inadequate fluoride exposure, prolonged nursing, and frequent high sugar content in the diet.

Tooth decay left undiagnosed and untreated can oftentimes lead to dental pain or emergency. With the help of your child’s pediatric dentist, you can gain the information and tools vital to keeping your child cavity-free. Schedule your child’s first dental check-up by their first birthday and every 6 months following. Prevention and early diagnosis are key to a healthy dental home.

Yours truly,

Dr. Jackie

* LEGEND

 

Risk Level The approximate additional risk of fatal cancer for an adult from exposure
Negligible: Less than 1 in 1,000,000
Minimal: 1 in 1,000,000 to 1 in 100,000
Very Low: 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 10,000
Low: 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 1,000
Moderate: 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 500