RELATIVE RADIATION LEVELS
our OFFICE
SUSTAINABILITY
TECHNOLOGY
HEALING
EXPERIENCE
Nobody wants to be exposed to xrays; however, without the xray, modern dentistry would be impossible. While our dental professionals are some of the best in their field, they can't see through opaque surfaces. The issues patients have are often completely hidden by sight. In fact, by the time anyone can see a problem with their eyes, it's a very bad sign on the long-term health of the tooth or gums. So yes, we are a holistic dental office, but we also must utilize the tools at our disposal to help you solve dental problems. And xrays let us do that as early as possible. The benefit of getting the dental treatment far outweighs any concern you should have over the dosage of radiation necessary to take the xray.
But, don't just take our word for it. Let's look into a bit more:
There are three machines we use for visualizing your dentition: the CBCT machine, Xray units, and the scanner. The scanner only admits light so there are no xrays at all. For our diagnostic needs, we use the xray machines all the time and on a more limited basis, the CBCT machine. Below is a great chart showing the relative amounts of radiation used in common medical exams. You can see that dental imaging is one of the lowest.
In a perfect world, nobody would get sick and need medical imaging. In the world we actually live in, doctors and dentists need to see what is happening to you, inside your body. Luck enough, technology has progressed to a point where we can use much, much less radiation than was traditionally used even ten to fifteen years ago.
Please note, all new patients of ours will need a new patient exam which includes xrays. That exam usually does not include the CBCT image, but if you have signs of significant dental issues, we may use it to better diagnose you. Again, remember, we cannot accurately diagnose dental issues without the use of xrays.
