The Truth About Dental X-Rays

Our new digital Panoramic X-Ray machine

When you're at your dental check up and your hygienist tells you it's time to update your X-Rays, you may have a few questions. Here are a few common questions and concerns we hear when it comes to dental X-Rays:

1. Why do I need dental X-Rays? Can't you just look in my mouth to see if there are any problems?

Dental X-Rays are the most important factor in diagnosing dental issues. A tooth that appears perfectly healthy to plain sight during the dental exam could have a large hidden cavity or an infection on the root - things only visualized with X-rays. 

Without dental X-rays, we cannot diagnose a dental problem, plus X-rays allow us to visualize things not seen through exam alone, such as the bone surrounding your tooth, your sinuses, and your TMJ. 


2. Why do my X-rays need to be updated every 1-2 years? Aren't the old ones still good?

While older X-rays serve as a useful basis for comparison, dental issues can emerge rapidly and without warning, making older x-rays not sufficient to diagnose new issues. 

Without updated X-rays, a preventable issue could be missed, causing the need for more extensive treatment later down the line. 
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3. Should I be worried about the radiation in dental X-rays?

Due to the advent of advanced digital imaging technology, radiation from dental X-rays is lower than it has ever been. Radiation from routine dental X-rays is drastically lower than that of other medical imaging, such as MRIs and CT scans. In fact, dental imaging has some of the lowest overall doses of radiation of any other imaging type in health care. 

In addition, newer digital X-ray systems are great at concentrating the x-ray beam exactly where it needs to go. In the past, there was concern that scatter radiation could travel to other structures such as the thyroid. New digital systems have eliminated that concern so completely that the American Dental Association no longer advises the use of lead aprons to protect from scatter radiation during dental x-rays. 

Carlone Family Dental takes pride in having the absolute latest in digital X-ray technology, so that our patients can feel confident that they are safe and cared for when taking dental images.