“Are Dental X-Rays Safe?” and Other Questions about Dental X-Rays

Some of the most common questions we get at Blue Apple Dental Group have to do with dental x-rays:

Are they safe? Why do I or my kids need them? And how often should I get them?

These are great questions (and we love how much you prioritize your health). The answers can get complex quickly, so we’ll do our best to cover the basics here.

Are Dental X-Rays Safe?

Let’s start with the most important question—safety. Both the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Dental Association (ADA) test dental x-rays to make sure they’re safe for patients of all ages. These governing bodies revise their guidelines when any advances in science and technology provide new methods to reduce exposure.

Thanks to faster film speeds, digital X-rays, and protective aprons and thyroid collars, the X-ray of today is far superior to those of even just a decade ago.
This applies to children, too. Today’s X-rays are so safe, in fact, that the amount of radiation a child is exposed to in an X-ray of the back molars is roughly equivalent to the amount of radiation they are exposed to in the environment on a daily basis.