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My Dentist Wants to do X-Rays on My Child. Are These Safe?

dental xray
Dentist in dental ordination with female young patient looking at her dental x-ray


People usually get x-rays when they go to the dentist, but are they safe for your child? When dentistry teams take x-rays of people of all ages, they are very careful. The exposure to x-rays is so small that it is safe and useful as a dental care tool. They also wear shields and protective clothes. In fact, dentists would not be able to find and treat many common dental problems without x-rays. This is why they are an important part of any dental office.

Let’s talk about why x-rays are important and how hard your dentist team works to keep you, your kids, and our technicians safe.

Why do we need dental x-rays?

Dental x-rays help dentists find problems with teeth before they get worse. When kids go to the dentist, they can use x-rays to look at their adult teeth before they come in and find problems like jaw crowding. Dental x-rays can also show tooth and bone disease, tumors, and infections in the teeth and gums.

Dr.s. could still find some common dental problems without dental x-rays, but it would take a lot more work, and they would not be able to treat patients as precisely. In the long run, getting regular dental x-rays is better for your health because they can help find problems before they get worse.

How to Keep Our Dental X-Ray Machine Safe

When it comes to our x-ray machines, we follow state laws and rules, which include getting the right training and following safety practices. To get good pictures, we want to image slowly, putting our patients and staff through as little radiation as possible. As part of our safety measures, we wear led-lined suits to lower the risk of x-ray damage, use the smallest x-ray beam possible, and use fast-developing film to cut down on exposure time. When we need to protect our patients even more during imaging, we may use thyroid bands.

Is radiation bad for you?

Being careful around harmful radiation can be bad for your health. However, our dental office is dedicated to the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) way of dental imaging and radiation exposure. Routine dental exams probably won’t expose you to high amounts of radiation, and even ongoing dental work will only expose you to very low levels of radiation. Even though radiation can be damaging, getting dental x-rays is very safe and doesn’t expose you to much of it.

How our office cares for your child’s health

They are so safe that we stay in the room with you while we take x-rays. We use NOMAD x-ray machines. Because NOMAD x-ray machines let us focus on just one part of your mouth at a time, you are exposed to fewer x-rays altogether. The acrylic shield and safety tube that come with these x-ray machines stop x-rays from spreading. This lets our dental team focus on specific x-ray sites without having to worry about the patient moving.

We always put your child’s dental health first, but we also care about their health in general. As a result, we only use x-rays when they are absolutely required and take all necessary safety measures when x-raying children. Talk to our dentist team if you have any questions or concerns about how we use x-rays. They will be happy to tell you more about how we are dedicated to keeping you and your child safe.

We can help you find a juvenile dentist near you. At Smile Starters Pediatric Dentistry, we are dedicated to giving kids safe and friendly dental care. Call our office right now to make an appointment with our amazing staff!

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