What are digital x-rays?

In our office, and in most modern dental offices, digital x-rays, or radiographs, are used.  Why are dental offices changing to digital x-rays?  There are multiple reasons why.

The most important reason is that they are safer for the patient.  Radiation from x-rays has long been a source of concern for patient, and they can now rest easier.  A standard dental xray delivers about 1mREM.  A REM is the unit of measurement for radiation.  A person generally receives about 360mREM from background sources. Background sources include space, the sun, the ground, the air we breathe, etc.  Cooking with Natural Gas exposes a person to about 10mREM per year due to the Radon gas in the natural gas.  Living in a brick home adds another 10-20mREM above living in a wood structure.  Therefore, dental x-rays were already safe.  However, the digital sensor that is in use in our office requires about 25% as much radiation, or a 75% decrease in radiation.  This means that they are that much safer for our patients.

In addition, a digital x-ray allows the dentist to make better, faster, and more reliable diagnosis.  The image appears immediately on the screen, allowing the dentist to see what is happening immediately, causing the patient less anxiety sitting and waiting.  Along with that are the benefits of being able to visually manipulate the image.  This makes it easier to make a good diagnosis by changing the contrast, brightness, and gain of the image, causing problems such as decay to appear more distinctly.  The hidden benefit is that a larger picture makes it more real for the patient, helping them to be more active in their treatment planning.

So, the next time you go to the dentist, at least at BenchMark Dental, you can rest easy knowing that your dentist has you in mind when he takes x-rays of your teeth.