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Cosmetic Dentistry Directory Blog
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Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Are Dental X-Rays Safe
Public concerns about exposure to x-rays, or gamma radiation, escalated through the 20th century. The advent of the nuclear age brought advances in military applications, energy and medical technologies. As more and more medical evaluation tools resulted in patient exposure, the health concerns of the general public became a key concern for the medical profession and governmental regulators.
When having dental x-rays, your exposure to radiation is very limited and safe. To put it into perspective, the average person is exposed to about 360 mREM of radiation per year from background sources. Sources for background radiation include outer space, natural materials in the earth and even other people.
The average dental x-ray results in about 1 mREM of exposure. So, a full mouth series of 18 intraoral films delivers about 18 mREM of exposure. As x-ray technology continues to advance, the exposures continue to decrease. There are x-ray film technologies currently in use that can reduce the radiation exposure by up to 60 percent.
All of the discussion on units of measure of radiation can be a bit confusing to many people. Federal health standards provide a point of reference on safe exposure levels. The Federal government has set the maximum safe occupational whole body radiation exposure to 5000 mREM per year. It would take 278 full mouth dental x-ray series (18 films each) to equal the one year maximum safe occupational radiation level.
Exposure to dental x-ray radiation is only one health concern that dentists have to be aware of and attentive to in order to safeguard their patients during and after a procedure. To locate a dentist near you that cares about all of the aspects of your oral care, please contact us today.
posted by
Neil
at
11:10 AM
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