Are You Concerned About Dental X-Rays?

Let us help calm your fears! We are concerned about radiation too, so we want you to have the facts you need to make an educated decision when it comes to your children.

We want you to know the truth about dental x-rays. Just to break it down for you, below is a chart of the radiation doses you receive from different x-rays. An annual maximum occupational exposure for radiation workers in the united State is 5,000 millirems (measure for radiation). When you spread low doses out over a period of time, it's not as destructive to the body because it has time to recover.

High dose group includes:

*Mammography =1000

*Pelvimetry = 875

*Lower spine = 450

*Middle spine = 347

Medium dose group includes:

*Abdomen = 147

*Ribs = 143

*Pelvis = 133

*Skull = 78

*Hip = 72

Low dose group includes:

*Neck = 52

*Femur = 21

*Full Mouth dental series (digital) = less than 1

*Dental Bitewing (digital) = less than .05

To put this in perspective, you would need to have 2000 dental x-rays to equal the radiation in 1 mammogram. To reach that maximum safety dose, we would have to take approximately 10,000.

On average, people receive 3 dental bitewings worth of radiation a day just from being outside in the sun, around concrete buildings or roads. These are some studies produced by radiologists saying that low doses may actually reduce cancer risks. Knowing how low the dose is, lets talk about the benefits of dental x-rays.

Here are just a few:

*detecting hidden decay

*detecting the presence of a cyst or tumor

*determining the presence of permanent teeth

*detecting oral cancer

*detecting root involvement with the sinuses

*helping to determine whether or not to remove primary teeth

*determining if extra teeth are present

The list goes on and on. We hope you feel safe and secure when your child gets his or her next set of dental x-rays!

Children May Also Need Mouth Guards

Dental hygienists can provide guidance by identifying children who are at increased risk of dental trauma and discussing this risk with them and their parents. The permanent dentition of children begins to erupt around the age of 6-7 years. Children with permanent dentitions who have an increased overjet are at higher risk of dental trauma. A normal overjet is 0 -3 mm. Children who have twice the normal overjet 3-6 mm, experience twice the number of injuries to the teeth. These children are easy to identify and dental hygienists should educate them and their parents about the increased risk of dental trauma and provide guidance on what to do if an oral injury occurs.

These children with increased overjet should wear protective mouthguards when playing contact sports. Typically, kids will only wear mouthguards when they are required to, but many injuries occur when playing unorganized sports, such as skateboarding, riding a bicycle or even jumping on a tramapoline. Dental hygienists should encourage children with increased overjet to wear a mouthguard even during these everyday activities.

Treating Pregnant Patients

Dental professionals have long worried about treating pregnant patients because the effects of oral health care on fetuses are not well understood. In 2006, the Obstetrics and Periodontal Therapy Trial was conducted through funding from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. This study determined that providing dental and periodontal care to pregnant patients did not cause an increase in preterm births or any other significant complications. A new study followed up on the study participants and their children. Researchers administered cognitive and language tests to the children of 411 inital study participants. Study authors found that the children of mothers who received dental care during pregnancy were at the same neurodevelopmental level as the children of control group mothers, demonstrating that dental treatment of pregnant women does not result in any negative effects on their children.

The opposite effect can be true, with the increase of pre-term births and low birth weight babies among women who have periodontal disease. Therfore, it is so important to have good oral care while pregnant - so go out there and make that dental appointment to get your teeth clened.