How Dental X-rays Work?
During a dental exam, X-rays from a dental X-ray machine pass through your mouth. Before the X-ray strikes the X-ray film, most of it is absorbed by dense tissues in the mouth (such as teeth and bones), and a small amount is absorbed by soft tissues in the mouth (such as cheeks and gums). This is how the X-rays are produced. On X-rays, the teeth will appear bright because only a small amount of the X-rays pass through the teeth and hit the X-ray film. Likewise, signs of cavities, infection, and gum disease, including changes to the bones and ligaments that hold teeth strong, can all show up on X-rays. These areas will be relatively dark because relatively more X-rays pass through them. The appearance of dental restorations (fillings, crowns) on radiographs depends on the restorative material used. Dentists can safely and accurately identify lesions by analyzing X-rays.
Next, let's take a look at the preventive measures of dental X-ray.
Preventive measures for dental X-ray
According to the "Medical Diagnostic X-ray Sanitary Protection Regulations", X-ray machines should be placed in a separate X-ray machine room. And the area of the machine room should be large enough. Generally, the X-ray room below 100mA should not be less than 24 square meters. Oral X-ray machine is applicable to this standard. Dental X-ray machines must be placed in a separate computer room with protective equipment, and X-ray machines are not allowed to be placed in the examination and diagnosis room. The setting of the X-ray machine room must fully consider the safety of the surrounding environment.
Filming process: radiologists must conduct exposure in a shielded room, and general lead screens are unsafe for protection. Tested, at the operator behind a lead screen 1m away from the dental X-ray head, the scattered radiation rate is 26mR/hour. Therefore, lead screens cannot be used for protection only. Fluoroscopy is best done with a compartmental approach.
Dental X-ray machine: The X-ray tube head should have a protective layer of sufficient lead equivalent, and the window of the X-ray tube head should be equipped with an aluminum filter plate. In modern dental X-ray machines, the cone tips of the tube heads are all replaced with cylindrical light collectors, which have a better function of absorbing scattered rays than the previous tube head cones.
Reduced exposure method: Under the principle of ensuring the quality of X-ray photos, a small irradiation field of "high voltage, low current, and thick excess" should be used as much as possible. The best way to reduce exposure is to use an intensifying screen in combination with high-sensitivity X-ray film. When using the "dental intensifying screen" when taking dental films, the radiation dose is much reduced. As a result, the amount of scattered radiation in the workplace can be greatly reduced, and the amount of X-rays received by the patient can also be reduced.
Time protection: The dose of X-ray exposure received by the human body is proportional to the exposure time, which is cumulative. The longer the exposure time, the more X-rays it receives. Unnecessary exposure, reducing re-illumination.
Protection for patients: The most effective way to take radiographs is to narrow the irradiation field and minimize the number and number of photos. If repeated radiographs or fluoroscopy are required, the interval between the two examinations should be extended.
