Dental X-Rays are Safer Than You Think
When you go to the dentist for your scheduled appointment, during the examination the dentist will do x-rays of your mouth. While you might be concerned about the exposure to radiation that x-rays present, you should not be. Dental x-rays are extremely safe and give off only 0.5 millirems, which is a very insignificant amount.
Why you need Dental X-Rays
Dental x-rays are a necessity when you visit the dentist. These x-rays are taken to view the overall structure and health of your teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist can notice things that are under the gums, that otherwise would not be detected without the x-ray. They can also notice the slightest onset of a cavity, and have it fixed immediately and cost efficient. If this cavity would wait until you start to feel pain, or see a hole in your tooth, by then the cavity will have grown into a much larger one. This would require more time spent to fix the cavity as well the cost being higher.
Dental X-Rays are safe
Everything you do in life has a certain risk level associated with it. Dental radiographs have been and continue to be a useful tool when diagnosing issues with your mouth, and the x-rays carry very few risks with them. Dentists are conscious of limiting the exposure, so you receive the least amount necessary. They use the most effective and safest methods possible to promote and restore your oral health. While large quantities of radiation are bad for you, the amount you receive while in the dentist chair is a very small amount. You get a larger amount of radiation by sleeping next to someone, living in a brick house, or being on a jet airplane than you do by being at the dentist.
If you choose not to get them, you could be risking your health
By choosing not to get x-rays, you are risking your health in ways you may not have known about. Without an x-ray, the dentist cannot see anything below the gum line, and cannot see if there are any other issues or problems that might become an issue in the future. They may notice a small cavity via the x-ray, otherwise you will notice it when you start to feel pain, and by then it has become a big cavity and a bigger dentist bill. An x-ray can also reveal if there is a cavity between the teeth or infections in the bone. If there is infection, it could travel in your bloodstream and go to other parts of your body, making you at risk of heart disease or other illnesses. X-rays are also needed to see how the wisdom teeth are growing in. By viewing them on an x-ray, they can tell if the wisdom teeth are growing in straight, crooked, impacted or even at an angle. The x-ray can also reveal if there are any cysts, abscesses, abnormalities, and some types of tumors.