Digital X-Rays: Low Radiation For Your Health

You’ve heard x-rays can be harmful to your health. X-rays give off radiation, which in high doses can be harmful. Read here to find out which x-rays are harmful and which are beneficial to your overall health.

At Studio Z Dental we are dedicated to providing the highest quality dentistry and are committed to following the standard of care, which means that current digital x-rays, otherwise called radiographs, are required of our patients.

We are mindful about following the principle of ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) for radiographs. Our advanced digital x-ray radiographs give off only ½ the amount of radiation over traditional film x-rays. These radiographs allow us to see vital areas of the mouth that are not visible during a clinical exam, either due to tissue or position of teeth. This helps your overall oral health stay strong over time.

With both dental radiographs and an exam, we can provide our patients with superior dentistry. You can feel confident both surface level problems, as well as any hiding below the surface of the teeth or gums, will be detected in your visit.

Understandably, there is concern over the use of x-rays by our patients. X-rays used by many dentists can be harmful if done too frequently. A typically healthy body can easily clear out radiation in lower doses. This is why we believe, the benefits of early detection our radiograph digital x-rays offer, greatly outweigh their low amount of radiation.

Below is a scientifically backed chart of how our x-rays compare with other exposure to radiation. A new patient bitewing series is so low in radiation, it’s only 1/2 of the radiation you receive from being on a flight from New York to LA.

Average Micro-Sieverts effective dose:

0.1 eating a banana

1  Using a CRT monitor for a year

5  Dental x-ray (digital)

10 Background dose received per day

20 Dental bitewing series (digital)

40 Flight from New York to LA

100 Chest x-ray

400 Dose per person, per year from food

700 One mammogram

1,500 Spine X-ray

3,000-4,000 One year’s exposure to natural radiation, soil, cosmic rays, etc

10,000 Average CT scan (medical)