The Truth About Dental X-Rays

Increasing awareness of cancer and widespread anxiety over dental visits have put dental x-rays under increasingly heavy fire. Are they really necessary for dental health, or are they just the lazy man’s way of detecting cavities? Furthermore, doesn’t x-ray exposure cause cancer? With myth and fact garbled together beyond recognition, it’s time to set the record straight with some facts about you and your dentist’s x-ray machine.

How do X-Rays work?

X-Rays

X-rays are a high energy spectrum of invisible light that can penetrate solid surfaces.

Tooth decay and other infections look darker than the surrounding tooth because they, like soft tissues, are softer and don’t contain as much calcium.

The Machine

How Stuff Works explains that the x-ray machine itself starts with two electrodes inside a glass vacuum tube. An electric current passes between the two electrodes, creating ultra-high voltage electricity. The metal in the electrodes reacts with the electric current on the atomic level with such force that it creates x-rays.

High-voltage electricity can make the surrounding area very hot, so the machine has two cooling systems. The first rotates one of the electrodes with a small motor, preventing the electric current from focusing on one spot for too long. The second system is an oil bath, keeping the machine cool similar to the way oil cools your car’s engine.

The entire machine is surrounded by a thick lead shield to prevent radiation from escaping, with only a narrow opening for the x-ray beam to pass through. This beam will travel through multiple filters before reaching the patient.

Why are they so important?

While dentists are trained in a variety of techniques for identifying tooth decay and other dental problems, what they see with their eyes doesn't tell the whole story. By getting a picture of what’s going on under the surface, x-rays keep dentists in the know about what they can expect in the future.

See Also: Dental Health: Things That Ruin Your Smile

As technology improves, x-rays are also playing an important part in oral cancer detection, according to Blackfalds Dental.

Because x-rays provide such a reliable means for monitoring internal processes, they are particularly important for kids and teenagers. X-rays help dentists to make sure their teeth are coming in properly.

Do I Have Options With Dental X-Rays?

Actually, yes, you do. There are several different kinds of x-ray machines, each with its own pros and cons. Knowing which type of x-ray machine you prefer can help you find a dentist with whom you will be most comfortable.

Intraoral

These are the traditional x-ray machines you probably remember from your childhood. They use plastic-covered film, which is placed in your mouth before the image is taken. The plastic packets can be painful for those with small mouths.

Intraoral x-rays give very detailed images of your individual teeth, as well as the immediate area surrounding them. These help your dentist detect tiny flaws which might otherwise go undetected.

Panoramic

This is the machine that circles around your head while you stand still and bite on a small platform.

This is very useful for tracking bone development, checking for impaction, and noting the relative positions of the teeth and jaws.

While it might feel like it’s going to give you brain cancer, take comfort from knowing that this machine uses less radiation than traditional intraoral x-rays.

Digital Radiographs

These are an alternative form of intraoral x-ray. But instead of having a plastic case of film in your mouth, it’s just an easily-placed electronic sensor. After receiving the x-rays from the machine, it creates an image and transfers it directly to a computer. There, a program can highlight small differences between this image and the previous picture taken of that area, making cavity detection much easier.

Thankfully, this procedure is much less painful for those with small mouths. 

See Also: Oral Care: Dental Problems in Children

Will I get cancer from dental x-rays?

Dentists are much more careful with x-ray use than they used to be, only using it as necessary. Wearing the lead-filled apron while the image is taken will protect your vitals from the radiation. Furthermore, new machines are constantly being developed to minimize patient exposure to x-ray radiation.

Can you get cancer from x-ray exposure? Yes, but it would take frequent x-ray exposure, roughly once annually. Over a lifetime the average adult should receive an x-ray every two or three years, which is so little x-ray radiation that their body can usually repair the damage on its own. So, cancer from dental x-rays is rare. You should be more worried about UV rays from the sun. 

The bottom line is, x-rays are the safest way for doctors and dentists to get an idea of what’s going on inside your body.