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Are Dental X-rays Harmful?

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What is an X-ray

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Dental X-rays are a variation of energy that can travel through solid objects. This energy is absorbed by dense objects, such as teeth and bones, show up in X-rays as translucent or opaque figures depending on the material of the dental treatment patient has. X-rays can help identify dental problems that cannot be seen with an oral physical examination as they can spot trouble early on in your mouth, teeth, gums and jaw. Treating problems before they get serious can save money, pain and sometimes even your life.
As such, dental diagnostic X-rays are an integral part of practicing dental treatment as your dentist will need to review the condition of which your teeth are currently in before offering any form of diagnosis.

What types of problems do X-rays help detect?

X-rays show the following diagnostical clues for dentists in adults:

  • Decay in teeth, even the small areas of decay between teeth and beneath existing fillings or dental prosthetics such as crowns and veneers.
  • Changes in the bones such as bone loss or root canal due to infection.
  • Condition of teeth and tooth roots to prepare for dental implants, braces, dentures or other dental procedures or prosthetics.
  • Abscesses (an infection at the root of a tooth or between the gum and a tooth).
  • Cysts and some types of tumors. On the other hand, in children the following can be checked on an X-ray for diagnostical purposes:
  • The presence of a decay in early stages of development
  • The presence of baby teeth
  • To check if there is enough space in the mouth to fit all incoming teeth.
  • The condition of wisdom teeth and if they are developing.
  • The presence of any impacted teeth (unable to emerge through the gums).

What are the different types of dental X-rays

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Dental X-rays can be divided into two main groups: intraoral (inside the mouth) and extraoral (outside the mouth).
The most common type of X-ray is intraoral X-rays in dentistry. There are also several types of intraoral X-rays that show different aspects of teeth.

Bitewing X-rays

Bitewing radiographs are among the easiest and most frequent ones to take, the chance of giving distortion-free results is higher than the rest of the types so this is necessary for the accurate assessment and diagnosis of dental issues such as decay between the teeth or the presense of ill-fitting dental crowns/ veneers. In children, they also show developing permanent teeth.

Taken with the film or sensor place in a vertical direction (vertical bitewings), these radiographs also show bone volume and density, for evaluation of periodontal health (“peri” – around; “odont” – tooth). Bitewing images usually consist of four films, two on each side, which are necessary to capture all the back teeth — premolars and molars. Often only one bitewing image per side is required in smaller children.

They can also detect changes in the thickness of bone caused by gum disease as well as any wear or breakdown of dental fillings.

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Periapical X-rays

Periapical X-rays show the whole tooth, from the crown to the root where the tooth attaches into the jaw. Each periapical X-ray shows all teeth in a specific portion of the mouth. They also detect any unusual changes in the root and surrounding bone.

Occlusal X-rays

Occlusal X-rays track the development and placement of an entire arch of teeth in either jaw.

Extraoral X-rays

Extraoral X-rays are useful for the detection of dental problems in the jaw and skull. There are several types of extraoral X-rays.

Panoramic X-rays

These are the second most commonly used dental X-rays for diagnostic point of view, they show the entire mouth area to include all the teeth in both the upper and lower jaws on a single X-ray. It is useful for the detection of the position of fully emerged teeth, as well as impacted teeth and also tumors.

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3D Tomographic scans/ Cone beam CT

This is a type of X-ray that creates 3-D images of dental structures, soft tissue, nerves and bone. It helps capture tooth implant placement and evaluates cysts and tumors in the mouth and face.

Cephalometric projections

Cephalometric projections show the full side of the head. This is especially beneficial for the review of the teeth in relation to the jaw and profile of the individual. Orthodontists use this X-ray for realigning

Sialography

This type of imaging uses a dye that is injected into the salivary glands to show up on the X-ray. Dentists might need this test to look for salivary gland problems, such as blockages, or Sjogren’s syndrome (a disorder with symptoms including dry mouth…etc; as this disorder can play a role in tooth decay).

Are X-rays Harmful?

Different types of dental X-rays can be used for different treatments, including bitewings, full-mouth series, and panoramic views, are in common use. They do have a miniscule amount of radiation, however, digital technologies in dentistry have advanced so far to allow only very minimal radiation that is actually used for a standard dental X-ray. Because, considering the lifetime frequency of exposure to dental diagnostic X-rays, even a slight increase in health risk would be of considerable public health importance.
Dental X-rays expose patients to very low radiation doses and this subject has been under the microscope for many years by the dental community and this has been the subject of many medical research over the years.

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