Understanding Dental X-Rays and Why They Are Important for Optimal Dental Health
Many of my patients have questions about dental X-rays, such as why we need them, how often we take them, or whether they're safe. These are all great questions, and you're definitely not alone in wondering about them. The truth is, X-rays are quick, safe, and one of the best tools we have to spot small issues before they turn into big problems. I've put together some answers to the most common questions I hear every day, so you can feel comfortable and confident the next time you're in the dental chair.
What are dental X-rays and how do they work?
Dental X-rays are, as the name implies, an X-ray. It's a beam that images your tooth. It can see through hard tissues like enamel. The old traditional X-rays were chemical-based, requiring film. I don't know if you remember, but there was film in our cameras before. That film had to go through a chemical process, and then you could see an X-ray of your teeth. They were hard to see, very small, and difficult to handle.
Thankfully, nowadays we have better options. We have digital X-rays, which aren't X-rays in the sense that we have a film to look at. This is all digitized, and there are many advantages. Digital X-rays offer faster image capture and display. Within a second or two, you can take your X-ray, and it appears on the computer screen. You can manipulate it, make it smaller or bigger, and share it with friends or colleagues for their opinions.
The most important part is that they have lower exposure. Dental X-rays are measured in microseverts. This probably doesn't mean much to you, but you can relate it to a single day exposure that occurs if you're walking outside. They have lower radiation, and you get much better image quality. You can spot cavities when they're small and easier and cheaper to fix.
There are no harsh chemicals affecting the environment, which is a big plus. The patient experience has improved because we can quickly correct an X-ray and make adjustments. If it's too dark, we can manipulate it with computer tools and often avoid retaking the X-ray. As I mentioned, we can share it with colleagues or insurance carriers much quicker.
How does the radiation from dental X-rays compare to other sources?
Returning to radiation microseverts, to give you an example, we get radiation all the time. Eating a banana gives you 0.1 radiation microseverts, while a dental X-ray is 0.2 microseverts. So, one X-ray is like eating two bananas. A full set of X-rays, all 18 to 21 images, is four microseverts.
If you take an airplane from LA to New York City, you're exposed to about 40 microseverts of radiation. That's a tenfold increase—four microseverts for dental X-rays compared to 40 for a flight from LA to New York. If you live in a brick building, just living there exposes you to 770 microseverts. To put it in perspective, from all the foods we consume, you get 400 microseverts in a year. That's 100 times the full set of X-rays just from eating. We often take the full mouth set of X-rays once every three to five years. So, put that in perspective—one to every three to five years for a full set of X-rays, which is only about four microseverts, compared to 400 from food consumption.
Another way to look at it is one X-ray equals one day of naturally occurring radiation from the sun. A full set of X-rays is about seven days. No big deal. Nowadays, we use cone beams, which are three-dimensional X-rays. They're the most important thing we have in dentistry, in my opinion. We can do many things with three-dimensional X-rays. A cone beam equals 11 days of sun exposure. If you go to your physician and get a CT of your abdomen, it's equivalent to three years of natural exposure. So, a cone beam equals 11 days, while an abdominal medical-grade CT equals three years. Tremendous difference. No need to be afraid of dental X-rays.
What is the purpose of dental X-rays?
The purpose of a dental X-ray is to detect a cavity. As I mentioned before, a cavity is just acid in your mouth, either produced by the food we consume, like Gatorade or soda, or bacteria in our mouths that create acidic excrement, eroding the enamel of your tooth. It's like rust on metal. Once a hole forms on your tooth, a dental X-ray will detect it when it's small.
Often we cannot see it with the naked eye. That small cavity means a small filling, and you're done. If not caught early, the cavity grows until it's visible, and you'll probably need more expensive dentistry, even a crown. If you wait until it hurts, it becomes thousands of dollars for a root canal and a crown. It's important to take an X-ray to save you pain, expense, and money. I'd rather get a small filling than a crown or even a root canal and crown. Don't be afraid. Have your dentist take the X-rays, and they will fix things easily, pain-free, and at a lower cost.
Can you spot gum disease with an X-ray?
The answer is that you can spot bone loss with a dental X-ray. We know where the bone should be, and on an X-ray, we know where it shouldn't be. When you have gum disease, you lose bone from where it should be. You then have to determine if that is active bone loss, meaning tomorrow you'll lose more bone.
We do that by looking at the health of your gum. If it's red, inflamed, and bleeds easily, you have active disease and will lose more bone every day. If you've had it treated and your gums are pink, firm, and don't bleed, it could be a history of prior bone loss, but it's not continuing. You've cared for it well, and it's under control.
On an X-ray, you can see bone loss that has already occurred, whether it's a chronic stable condition or a fast-moving acute condition that needs urgent care. You need to see your dentist, have them take X-rays, and you can have a good discussion about what's going on.
Want to learn more? Call Riverside Center for Esthetic Dentistry at (951) 904-3164 or email [email protected]. Our team is happy to answer your questions and help schedule your visit.