All About Dental X-Rays For Children
By learning from dental health professionals, you can help your children maintain strong oral health well into their adult years. Many parents ask their oral health professional about dental x-rays for children. These diagnostic tools hold significant value as part of the treatment process, but it’s important to know how they’re used to ensure your child receives the best treatment. In this latest post, our dental care clinic team explores the latest information on dental x-rays for children.
Minimal Radiation Exposure
The frequency of x-rays for your child is determined based on your child’s oral health requirements. Digital x-ray technology is designed to minimize radiation exposure and keep children safe over the long-term. However, many dental offices are not equipped with this technology, which is why it’s important to ensure your dentist offers digital x-rays. There are several different types of dental x-rays, including:
- Bitewings
- Periapical
- Panoramic
- Cone Beam CT
All of these x-rays mitigate the need for large amounts of radiation during the procedure. The level of radiation in dental x-rays is comparable to the natural radiation that we are exposed to on a daily basis from the sun, soil, air, and water, for example. Speak with your dentist about the type of x-rays they use within their dental care clinic.
Make Communication a Priority
When choosing a dentist, it’s important that they have experience performing dental x-rays for children. This experience will ensure the dentist knows how to communicate with the child during the x-ray process and can help the child feel settled as they complete the x-ray. Keeping the child calm and ensuring they’re listening to the dentist as the x-ray takes place will be critical in achieving the optimal view of their teeth and gums during the process.
Talk to Your Child About the Procedure
Your child should be prepared before they experience a dental x-ray and should have a clear idea about the process so they’re ready for the appointment. Before the appointment, describe in detail how the dentist will complete the x-ray, and make sure your child recognizes that this process is completely safe. This will help them to feel calm and make them better able to sit still during the process. Some dentists will allow you to be at your child’s side during the x-ray to offer further reassurance.
Make sure you approach your child’s upcoming dentist appointments with full knowledge of the benefits dental x-rays bring to your child’s health. Call our dental care clinic team today to learn more about how to safeguard your child’s oral health.