shadowplay Posted August 2, 2010 Posted August 2, 2010 When I last went to the dentist because I had a tooth ache the inept hygneinist kept screwing up with the x-rays. She ended up having to give me three instead of just one. I'm going in for an x ray at another place with a root canal specialist today, and then a week later I have yet another set of full x rays so the dentist can check the overall state of my teeth. Doesn't this seem like a lot? I can't imagine this is healthy for me in the long run, but at the same time I want to take care of my teeth. Thoughts?
Feelin Frisky Posted August 2, 2010 Posted August 2, 2010 Don't sweat it. X-rays of course are dangerous but you're getting small focused bursts and not a whole body over-exposure like that which comes with exposure to radio active substances. It's worrisome that your technician couldn't do the job with the minimum exposure but no harm done in the long run. Consider people who have lost all their teeth and have dentures or implants. All the teeth didn't fall out in one felled swoop. It is usually a progression of one at a time, every one of which may take two or three xrays to ascertain the salvagability of the tooth. If one then gets implanted dentures then they have to have their head put in side an x-ray machine that rotates around their head giving the doctor a panoramic view. This may have to happen a few times. Then after sinking implants into the jaw he has to ex-ray the jaw periodically to see if the implants are stable or w/e. So, my point is that over the course of a lifetime many people will may have hundreds of mouth and jaw ex rays and if you're young, you've probably gotten no more than 1 percent of the total you may ultimately get in your life. What happened to you is nothing to worry about--just something to be a bit perturbed about because your technician was a bumbler and we all want as little of exposure to radiation as possible.
threebyfate Posted August 2, 2010 Posted August 2, 2010 One study found some correlation between multiple dental x-rays in childhood and higher incidents of thyroid cancer. But it's not much of a study since it was based on anecdoetal information from the participants instead of factual dental records. Just make sure you're not being charged for her screw-ups.
nittygritty Posted August 3, 2010 Posted August 3, 2010 Ask them if you can take your recent X-rays to the specialist. You should be able to.
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