Dental X-rays

As a stage 4 cancer survivor who had a lifetime worth of radiation in the 13 sessions of it I had in December 2015, nobody gets just how important it is to avoid it when you can. However, diagnostic x-rays are important, and our vital to our profession. As dentists, we cannot do our job without dental x-rays. It’s literally impossible to properly diagnose without them. It’s also malpractice to treat without them. And no dentist worth their salt is going to agree to work on a patient without diagnostic x-rays. In fact, if you have a dentist who is willing to do work on you without doing x-rays, RUN.  They are not fulfilling the very minimal standard of care if they fail to take proper diagnostic x-rays. 

In the photos you see here, you will see teeth and mouths that looked absolutely normal on the clinical exam. But the X-rays showed a different reality. So, this is what I need you all to understand. Dental X-rays nowadays have 98% less radiation than dental X-rays taken 30 years ago. 28 years ago, I was one of the first dentists to invest in digital X-rays for our office. It was the best decision. Nowadays, virtually all dental offices have digital X-rays. If you are still going to a dentist that takes the old-fashioned film x-rays, I would consider finding another dentist, because yes, in those offices, that’s a lot of radiation.  The studies that they’ve done have proven that the amount of radiation emitted by digital dental X-rays nowadays is virtually that of background radiation, ambient air.

In December 2024, I broke my arm while I was on vacation. I had to have X-rays at the hospital, and then I had to have X-rays four separate times as it was healing.  Had they not taken the X-rays, they would not have found that I had a spiral fracture of my radius in my arm. It was non-displaced, but had they not found it, they would have simply put me into a wrist splint instead of an over-the-elbow splint.  I would have risked my spiral fracture continuing to spiral and eventually separate my entire radius bone, needing far more drastic intervention with surgery.  I would have been told I was being dramatic when it still hurt three months later.  I was not being dramatic.  The X-rays were necessary. 

Now, because the kinds of x-rays that we take in our office don’t point towards the lead apron, most of our patients still want the lead apron when taking regular bite wings and periapical x-rays.  I don’t have a problem with that.  In our office, we also provide our patients with two Supplements to help minimize and mitigate the potential damage caused by ionizing radiation. We recognize the anxiety in people, and so we have found two good Supplements to use.

The first is an x-ray homeopathic.  It works just like any other homeopathic. It is energy medicine.  This is where we get ours.  Boiron used to make one, but they discontinued it. So this is the only one we could find. 

https://castleremedies.com/products/x-ray

Here are a few studies that show what Delta Tocotrienol does.:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38417343/

2.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25815474/

3.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21434782/

4.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24294967/

5.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22674714/

6.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20823133/

7.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26425129/

8.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24486300/

There are dozens of studies like this. So rather than refuse necessary, x-rays, consider getting yourselves a bottle of this, and every time you have to have an x-ray, take one of these pills. Every time you fly, take one of these pills. If you’re around Wi-Fi, consider taking one of these pills daily.  We are around far more radiation by flying in planes and being around Wi-Fi then what we get from dental x-rays.  That being said, I completely understand the anxiety, so invest in the solution rather than preventing dentists from being able to do our jobs. I hope this helps to ease your anxiety and to be able to move forward and have your dental work done without having to worry about the x-rays.