Dental health is essential for all age groups, be it a child or an adult. For this maintenance of dental health, there must be a proper oral hygiene routine to ensure that the children do not have any room for cavities or dental issues. Brushing and flossing are very important, and apart from this, you must also take your child for regular dental checkups. When you go for a regular dental checkup, then it would also involve checking through X-rays. In this matter, many people are skeptical about the x-rays.
People are confused about whether X-rays are safe for their children or not. So, in this article, we will clear your doubts and help you understand the functioning of X-rays in Hailey. If you want to know more about it, you can visit a family dentist in Hailey, ID where they can provide their expert knowledge to you regarding dental health.
Why is there a Use of Dental X-Rays?
X-rays are used as a tool to get a closer look at the areas in the mouth that we cannot see with our naked eyes. It includes the areas between the teeth, the inner structures of the teeth, and the jawbone. Dental X-rays help in diagnosing tooth decay or issues with normal tooth eruption, jawbone damage or problems, wisdom teeth, and other such matters.
When the doctors detect these problems at the early stages, it becomes easy for them to treat them as early as possible. If there were no use of X-rays, then these problems may penetrate more and create a massive issue at later stages, and thus, x-rays save us from much bigger problems.
X-rays are also used in the treatment planning for the placement of fillings or crowns, extraction of teeth, or any other orthodontic treatments. The use of X-rays would ensure that there is high safety and security for your child’s dental health.
Are Dental X-Rays Safe for Children?
When parents take their children to doctors, there is a significant concern among them about whether dental X-rays would be safe for their children or not. The primary problem is that dental x-rays can lead to exposure to radiation and therefore, we need to know in detail the function of dental x-rays. Dental X–rays release a low level of radiation, and it is shallow which is considered a safe level for children.
There is modern dental x-ray equipment which is designed to minimize the radiation exposure. The amount of radiation that is exposed to the children is similar to the natural background radiation that they receive from the environment daily.
In many dental practices, there is a use of digital x-rays which further reduces the fear of radiation exposure. Digital X-rays use around 80% less radiation, making it safer for you to test your teeth. So, modern technologies are using their ways to reduce the radiation effect on children.
Additionally, dentists also follow all the safety protocols and strict safety guidelines when taking X-rays so that it does not harm children. There are protective measures such as lead aprons and thyroid collars to shield your child’s body from unnecessary exposure to radiation. The X-ray beams are directly focused on the targeted areas, and therefore, it is a safer procedure.
Apart from this, dentists also recommend dental x-rays when they are necessary for the treatment. The frequency of X-rays is less, and it depends on your child’s needs, such as their age, dental history, the risk of radiation, and other issues. So, after considering all of these factors, dentists will recommend dental x-rays for your child.
Thus, these are some of the essential points that prove that dental X-rays are not that harmful and that some protections keep your child safe from radiation.
