For your next trip to the dentist…

Dentists. Children hate them. Adults think they should only visit need them if absolutely necessary.

When I was young, I used to think of dentists as professional scammers always trying their hardest to find as many problems to rack up their charges. Now, I think of a small mirror that doesn’t fog up. I think of syringes. I think of a scraper. I think of a scalar. I think of a suction. Most importantly, I think of getting an x-ray done and with a heavy apron, following instructions to keep my mouth open while biting on a plastic covered mouthpiece that’s been inside countless of other people’s mouths.

Small mirror. Syringe. Scraper. Scaler. Suction. Apron.

If those were the options for a question asking “which one doesn’t belong?”, what would you pick?

If you picked apron, you are absolutely right. Thanks to advancements in technology, research conducted by Radiation Protection Services, a friend studying dentistry, and other research that I made, it can now be considered a factoid that: aprons are unnecessary during x-rays in a dental clinic for adults.

(Disclaimer: Pregnant women are recommended to wear an apron for safety. Children should wear aprons too as they are not fully developed yet, which puts their thyroids, the most sensitive organ when it comes to radiation, at risk.)

For the most part, the patient is only exposed to radiation that is targeted by the x-ray beam. A dental x-ray emits similar amounts of radiation as a one hour flight does. The next time you visit your dentist, ask the dental assistant if their x-ray machine is new and if it’s necessary to wear an apron.

Either way, you can never be too careful.

The decision is yours to make.