Dental Insurance Plus, More on Dental X-Rays
In most dental practice they employ digital x-ray technology, which produces 90 percent less radiation than the traditional method. In most cases the dentist will still use the protective aprons to minimize even the tiniest amounts of radiation that digital x-rays produce.
Here are some more facts: every year we absorb, from the earth’s atmosphere, 63 times the amount of radiation that annual regular checkup x-rays produce. That is just being on earth!
Some addition facts: one typical digital dental x-ray produces about two or three mrems (a scientific unit used to measure radiation.) Flying from New York to LA gives you 5 mrems, each way (that’s 333 times the amount of radiation of an x-ray for a round trip). You also get an additional 2 mrems per year if you sleep next to your partner (because our bodies produce tiny amounts of radiation constantly because we all have naturally occurring radioactive materials) Cooking with natural gas produces another 10 mrems.
However, you should ask your dentist about their X-ray practices if you have concerns about receiving dental X-rays.
