Children’s Dental X-Rays

We all know how important teeth cleanings are in maintaining your child’s dental health, but what you may not know is how important radiographs (X-rays) are to dental health also. Some parents are hesitant to expose children to radiation when they are very young but radiographs are necessary for a number of reasons that go beyond just detecting cavities.

For children, radiographs are important in evaluating teeth growth and development so that abnormalities can be dealt with before they become serious problems. Radiographs allow your child’s dentist to observe and detect conditions that are not apparent in a regular oral examination. For instance, a dental x-ray can detect a problem with the formation of a permanent tooth early on. In this situation, the dental healthcare provider can try to keep the baby tooth in place as long as possible so as to avoid more complex and expensive treatment. Also, radiographs can aid in surveying the eruption of teeth, diagnosing bone conditions, planning orthodontic treatment, and monitor an injury.

While there is no standard timetable for when your child should start getting dental x-rays, it is a good idea for your child to begin getting radiographs when all of his or her teeth are touching and the dentist can no longer sell all surfaces of the teeth. According to recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatric dentistry, children who are at high risk for tooth decay should have radiographs done by their dentist every 6 months while other children should typically have radiographs once a year. Also, it is recommended that about every three years, your child should get a complete set of radiographs which includes bitewings (used to see between teeth) and either a panoramic (used to view all teeth on one film) or periapicals (used to see the entire crowns and roots of adjacent teeth).

You shouldn’t worry about the radiation affecting your child, because dental x-rays pose a far smaller risk than do undetected and untreated dental conditions. Additionally, pediatric dentists take many precautions to minimize exposure to radiation. These precautions include lead body aprons and shields that safeguard your child from exposure. In conjunction with these body shields, high-speed film, and technology that can filter out unnecessary x-rays and helps the x-ray beam to focus on the area of interest, you child receives minimal radiation exposure.