By Arthur Kezian

Are you sometimes scared and bothered when your child needs to have her x-rays done? Well, don’t be because it is okay. Safer digital X-rays are taking over older, film X-Rays.

Digital X-Rays are not as dangerous and exposing your children to a minimal amount of radiation is definitely okay. Just as long as standard safety precautions are taken, today’s X-ray equipment usually eliminates unnecessary radiation and allows the dentist to focus the X-ray beam on a specific part of the mouth.

Sometimes when you hear someone mentioning the word “radiation”, it gives you an unpleasant feel and an array of negative images for most people. Radiation does not always conjure with the word cancer, bomb, and all kinds of negativity. Medical and dental professionals consider x-rays as beneficial for diagnosing and treating a wide variety of medical conditions.

What are dental X-Rays?

They are high-energy photons which take pictures of the teeth, bones, and its surrounding structures that have more energy and short wavelengths than ordinary visible light. It acts out as a diagnostic material for checking cavities in teeth, underlying dental structures such as bone defects and impacted wisdom teeth. X-Rays play an integral part in diagnosing a dental problem most especially structures that cannot be seen during a visual examination.

X-Rays, which are also known as radiographs are diagnostic tools which help the dentist to:

–          See the erupting teeth of your children,

–          See the position of the erupting teeth, the number and its size

–          Determine whether a tooth is considered missing or an extra tooth which is called a Mesiodens

–          See if there are any mouth and teeth injuries, for example if your child fell from the bed, or had an accident where the area of the tooth got hit.

–          Determine if there are decayed teeth or any type of damage on the supporting bones of the teeth

–          See if there are infections in the mouth or teeth

–          Detect problems that cannot be visibly seen such as bone damage or defects to the bones supporting the teeth.

–          Prepare your kids if they need orthodontic treatment or braces

–          See if there are bone diseases or other problems such as cysts and tumors

X-Rays taken on routine dental check-ups or a couple of times is not considered to be harmful or can cause any damage. As a precaution, your dentist will cover your body with a lead apron to protect it from unnecessary rays. Doses of x-rays used in the dental field are considered very low. The dental staff follows a standard safety program like wearing a radiation badge to measure the level of radiation to which the team may have been exposed just to make sure they aren’t jeopardizing their health and yours.

Thank you for your confidence and for entrusting your child to us for thorough and gentle dental care.   If you have any questions please feel free to call your Los Angeles Dentist, Dr. Arthur Kezian.

Dr. Arthur A. Kezian DDS 443 N. Larchmont Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90004 (323) 467-2777