Recently on the news there h
ave been accusations that dental x-rays are linked to brain tumors. In the numerous articles I have read about this subject, most times it does not specify on what type of dental x-rays this link is referring to. The article would go on and on about the radiation in dental x-rays, then finally I reached one sentence that caught my eye. “Having once-yearly or more frequent bitewing x-rays, which expose a small piece of film placed between the teeth to a beam of radiation, raised the risk for meningiomas (brain tumor) 1.4 to 1.9 times.” (Dr. Elizabeth B. Claus led the study) The study was based on x-rays used in the 1960’s. This was when x-rays delivered a much higher dose of radiation that today’s do. “However, x-ray doses in decades past were several times higher than doses used in today’s digital devices, the researchers, the ADA and outside experts agreed.”
Film Dental x-rays, what are those??? Do people still use film??? X-ray systems from the 1960??? We are living in the year 2012!!!
First off, we use “Digital” x-rays not film. The new digital sensors are so sensitive they require less radiation to generate an image. At Dr. Thomas Gibbs dental office we wanted to do some research on the dental x-ray systems we use. So, I called the dental x-ray companies and got the radiation exposure dosage that a person would get if we take the normal four bitewings. At Dr. Thomas Gibbs office we take bitewings once a year and we take the panoramic full mouth x-ray once every five years. Once a year for the four bitewings you would be exposed to 20 microsieverts (how radiation is measured). When you get the panoramic x-ray once every five years you would be exposed to 16.1 microsieverts. These numbers are about 50% lower then film based x-rays, which make them much safer and make the risk of potentially harmful effects extremely small.
Every day we get questions about radiation exposure before we take the x-rays, and we love explaining to our patients, how advanced technology in digital dental x-rays have become. So I am going to leave with a little information provided by the ADA- American Dental Association.
“The whole-body radiation exposure associated with four bitewing radiographs is approximately 38 microsieverts, for example. By comparison, an airplane flight at 39,000 feet is associated with an exposure of about 5 microsieverts per hour. This means the exposure during a set of four bitewing radiographs is roughly equivalent to a seven-hour flight. These estimates are based on traditional film–based x-rays; many digital x-ray systems may require even less radiation.”
When looking at the digital system we use in our office, you would only have to fly four hours to get the same amount of radiation exposure as the four bitewing digital x-rays. So, when you take your children to Florida for vacation from Chicago the round trip will give you 30 microsieverts, less then what four digital bitewings would give you.
