Dental Radiation and X-Ray Safety Facts

Dental X-Ray Basics

Radiation Exposure - We use ELDDR (Extremely Low Dose Digital Radiography) which uses one tenth of the dosage of a traditional x-ray film. Please refer to the chart below for some relative comparisons. As you can see, our digital x-rays are safer then our beautiful Miami Beach sunshine!

What is an X-Ray?

An X-Ray is a charged particle with a specific energy range. There is a known spectrum of energy levels which range in order of energy from radio waves, to microwaves, to infrared radiation, then visible light, followed by ultraviolet radiation, then X-rays, and lastly gamma rays. There are multiple sources for all of these types of electromagnetic radiation. Some are man made and some occur in nature.

X-rays are useful in medical and dental imaging because of their ability to pass through certain materials.

X-ray imaging requires a source to generate the x-rays, and a sensor to register them and make an image.

A simple analogy is that x-rays are like making a shadow puppet. The light bulb generates electromagnetic radiation, which will project onto a wall. If you put your hand in between the light bulb and the wall, your hand absorbs that light, completely stops it from passing through, and makes a shadow.

The x-ray is basically a more powerful ray of light that is only partially stopped by your hand.