Is a yearly dental X-ray necessary? New discussion in the industry

If you visit a dentist several times per year to treat tooth cavities or other tooth diseases, you might catch yourself on the question: "How often should I take an X-ray, and isn't it too soon for another one?"

Don't worry; you are not paranoiac – many dentists are worried about this issue, too. Recently, a discussion about the overuse of dental X-rays was started after three Brazilian specialists wrote a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

They said that the industry's range of interests shifted to economic factors from patient care – clinics are focusing on gaining money by over-diagnosing and over-treating patients. The letter does not mention X-rays directly, but this technology became a most discussable topic in the comments. Still, the discussion is divided into two "camps": those who claim that X-rays are overused and those who say that tools are crucially important for preventing dental and periodontal diseases.

X-ray's pros and cons

The latter's position is understandable – the imaging technique is the most straightforward approach to check whether some problems in the oral cavity are presented.

However, the opponents of regular X-rays also have a reasonable position. First of all, there is an official recommendation from the American Dental Association that adults without increased risk of tooth cavity development should get a new X-ray once every 2-3 years. The scientific group that provided this recommendation noted that, despite a low level of radiation in this tool, "any amount of ionizing radiation can increase the risk of adverse health effects." Also, the same paper said that dentists should use X-rays only when it's clinically necessary, "based on diagnostic and treatment planning needs, and dentists shall make a good-faith attempt to obtain radiographs from previous dental examinations."

Yehuda Zadik, an associate professor at Israel's Hebrew University, also agreed with that statement, insisting that performing routine radiographs during periodic examinations is inappropriate practice. This tool should be applied only when a clinical examination shows a particular reason for getting a fresh X-ray.

Possible Solution

Fortunately, modern dentistry invited some novelties to avoid using harmful X-ray radiation. First of all – internal scanners. This compact device is easy to use and performs scans with the help of harmless beams of light. Besides that, such an approach will provide you with much more detailed 2D or 3D images of the oral cavity, such as 3DISC software.

Also, specifically for restorative procedures, recently, scientists presented an even more fascinating approach – pose detection, that can precisely define the implant position in the human jaw after placement.