Dental X-RaysDentist Silverlake LA
Dental x-rays are important because they allow us to see the full picture of your oral health.
Why Are Dental X-Rays Important?
To maintain your oral health, it’s important to schedule regular visits to see your dentist for an oral examination and cleaning. If you’ve ever visited a dentist before, you’ve probably had dental x-rays taken prior to your exam. Dental x-rays are important because they allow us to see the full picture of your oral health. By evaluating your high-quality x-ray images, we can spot signs of decay early and see what’s happening beneath the surface of your gums, including your jawbone.
What Dental Issues Can X-Rays Detect?
Dental x-rays allow your dentist to see what’s happening below the surface of your gums. By catching any issues or signs of decay early, we can help treat them before they progress into something more serious, often resulting in more costly treatments. With dental x-rays, your dentist can spot:
- Decay in areas that are not visible, including underneath crowns and fillings
- The deterioration of jawbone caused by periodontal disease
- Impacted teeth and wisdom teeth that may cause issues in the future
- Abscesses, cysts, tumors, or any other abnormalities
How Often Should You Have Your X-Rays Taken?
For most patients, we recommend that you have your x-rays taken once per year; however, if you have extensive dental issues, you may need to have your x-rays done more often.
Are Dental X-rays safe?
Dental X-rays are one of the lowest-radiation diagnostic tools in all of medicine — and the exposure is genuinely tiny. A full set of digital dental X-rays delivers roughly 0.005 millisieverts of radiation, which is less than a single day of natural background radiation you receive just from living on Earth. To put it in perspective, you’re exposed to more radiation during a two-hour airplane flight than you are from a complete set of dental X-rays. Even daily use of your cell phone, sleeping next to another person, or eating a banana exposes you to measurable background radiation. Modern digital X-ray technology has reduced dental radiation doses by up to 80% compared to older film-based systems, and with lead aprons used as an added precaution, the exposure is considered negligible by every major health organization in the world.
Radiation Exposure Comparison
| Source | Equivalent To |
|---|---|
| Single bitewing X-ray | 1 hour of natural background radiation |
| Full set of digital dental X-rays | About half a day of normal daily life |
| Cell phone use (daily)* | Ongoing low-level exposure throughout the day |
| Cross-country flight (LA to New York) | 3 full days of natural background radiation |
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