NRC guidelines state that adults can be safely exposed to 5,000 millirems of radiation per year. Children can be safely exposed to 500 millirems of radiation each year. Basically, while dental x-rays expose you to some radiation, the benefits of having them outweigh the risks. The risk of a single dental x-ray is very low.
However, some studies show a slight increase in cancer risk, especially in children. Therefore, it is important to keep radiation exposure as low as possible. I had one tell me that the radiation was similar to that of their phone, great, they don't know the difference between microwave radiation and x-rays and the electromagnetic wavelength of each one in relation to body penetration. When it comes to dental health, it's always simpler, less costly, and less painful to detect these problems early.
For example, for my dental insurance coverage, they specify that they will pay for a full mouth of x-rays every 3 years. I went to 4 different dentists in 6 months, each one took X-rays more than one now I have this very painful spot lump on my gum where the X-rays were taken. I show the last two dentists The first one said it was a sister, the next one, I ask her if she would give me an abiotic, she said no if it doesn't heal, go back to the dentist I did the root canal. You should first talk to your dentist to discuss any concerns or questions related to dental x-ray examinations.
I went to my old dentist who took x-rays & he said I needed a tooth removed and he took out my tooth. Comparison of the effective radiation dose of various dental and medical imaging procedures with natural background radiation (* adapted NCRP reference report No. 177 and Image Gently). But I would never sit down to take x-rays of 18 teeth, when I'm just there for a cleaning, especially if I had dental x-rays the previous year, unless there is a serious problem in my mouth that requires so many x-rays.
What adds to my own concern is that the dentist will take a group of x-rays of my teeth and then refer me to a specialist who invariably wants to take a whole new series of more dental x-rays. To address any radiation problem, one must realize from the time my father practiced, in the 50s to the 70s, the manual films weren't very fast and the X-ray tubes weren't collimated, so the much larger scattered radiation was exposing patients and doctors in the room, however , my father or any of his colleagues or his patients didn't die from radiation or even get sick from it. To help dentists make these critically important decisions, professional dental organizations publish general guidelines for when x-rays should be performed. The American Dental Association recommends that healthy adults with no significant apparent dental problems only need to have X-rays every 2 to 3 years.
My teeth didn't need crowns, at least based on the x-rays and images she took the previous week (said the new dentist).
