• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Page Dental Group

Dentist - East Dallas, Preston Hollow & White Rock

  • Home
  • Practice
    • Holistic Dentistry
    • Special Needs Dentistry
    • General Treatments
    • Cosmetic Treatments
    • Digital Impressions
    • Reviews
  • Dental Teams
    • Greenville Team
    • Preston Team
  • Payment Options
  • Blog
  • Office Contacts
    • Greenville Dental Office
    • Preston Dental Office
x-rays and the effects of radiation

Radiation and your health

April 23, 2017 by Lynette Page, DDS

Page Dental recently had its inspection from The State of Texas Department of State Health Services. This department inspects our x-ray units and all of the protocols that we have in place regarding how we take and process x-rays. We passed with flying colors. So, with radiation safety on our radar, I thought I would discuss the topic on our blog.

X-rays, when taken in conjunction with a clinical exam, can help dental professionals see things like otherwise hidden decay, gum disease, bone loss, abscesses or cysts, rare diseases in the bone, developmental abnormalities, and some types of tumors. They can help us identify diseases and developmental problems before they become serious issues. For instance, if we catch a small cavity between the teeth that can be filled, we can do a conservative filling, as opposed to having to do a root canal and crown or, worse yet, having to extract the tooth and place an implant.

Before we make the determination for dental radiographs, we weigh the benefits against the risk of exposing a patient to x-rays by taking into account your health history, age, and your vulnerability to oral disease.

Page Dental also minimizes patient exposure to radiation by following the ALARA Principle (“as low as reasonably achievable”) and ensure the following procedures are followed:

  • Using the fastest image receptor for the task (fastest film speed or digital speed)
  • Collimating the beam (reduction in the size of the beam to the size of the image receptor)
  • Using proper exposure and processing techniques
  • Using appropriate radiation shielding (lead aprons and thyroid shields)
  • Limiting the number of images obtained to the minimum necessary for diagnostic purposes

We are exposed to radiation every day from appliances in our homes, minerals in the soil, airplane travel, and cell phones. The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements has estimated that the mean effective radiation dose from all sources in the US is 6.2 millisieverts (mSv) per year – about 3.1 mSv of this dose is from natural sources and about 3.1 mSv is from man-made sources. An adult’s effective radiation dose from one intra-oral x-ray is .005 mSv , which is comparable to natural background radiation for 1 day.

According to the ADA, dental radiographs account for only 2.5% of the effective dose received from medical radiographs and fluoroscopies. You would have to get 27 full mouth sets of digital x-rays (486 x-rays in total) to equal 2 chest x-rays.

So, whether dealing with radiation safety or any other dental procedures, you can rest assured that our focus is your health.

by Lynette Page, DDS, MAGD, MA


More articles

The benefits of dental flossing
Yes, you should still floss! (newer)
The facts about dental implants (prosthetics)
The benefits of implants (older)
Home ›› Dental Articles ›› Radiation and your health

Primary Sidebar

Featured Articles

The benefits of dental flossing

Yes, you should still floss!

May 2, 2017

As many of you have heard, the US government removed flossing from its 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines. Dr. Miller, Rhonda, Tammy,… continue reading ➤ Yes, you should still floss!

Woman showing she has tooth pain

Tooth sensitivity treatments

May 17, 2019

Tooth sensitivity is defined as temporary pain in your teeth and is typically the result of worn tooth enamel or… continue reading ➤ Tooth sensitivity treatments

Dental office in Preston Hollow

Dental offices ranked favorably (2nd out of 26) among locations to possibly visit during the CoViD-19 crisis

July 8, 2020

We hate to boast, but when it comes to the risk-benefit ratio of seeing your dentist, it appears a visit… continue reading ➤ Dental offices ranked favorably (2nd

Share Us

  • Site Map
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal Information

Page Dental Group


© 2017 · Page Dental Group, 6500 Greenville Ave #100, Dallas, TX 75206.