Children should no longer get routine dental x-rays when no problem exists, according to the American Dental Association. Exposure should be only when the dentist wants to confirm teeth problems noted in oral exams.
Key takeaways:
- Dentists should perform dental x-rays every 6-12 months for high-risk preschoolers who have had cavities in their baby teeth.
- Dental x-rays should be considered only every 12-24 months for younger children who have never had a tooth cavity.
- Dentists can recommend cone beam CT scans to get 3-D x-ray images of the teeth and their roots as well as the jaw and the skull.
But there always needs to be a justification for using X-rays. Some reasons include impacted teeth, pain, obvious decay, unexplained bleeding, migrating teeth, or again, simply because a dentist can’t see between two teeth.
Read the full story here
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/do-kids-need-dental-x-rays/
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