Q:I would like you to address how often dental X-rays should be taken. It seems like I am always getting Xrays.- Ruth in Boynton
A: I don’t know why, but women with biblical names seem to be my biggest fans. I bet lady Gaga can’t say that! As you might have read in a previous column I did express that as long as you are going to an office that is using digital X-ray systems and lead aprons with thyroid collars, you will not have any ill effects from the minimal radiation used. The US Food and Drug Administration Guidelines for prescribing dental X-rays was published in 2006. For an adult or adolescent new patient who has had a history of extensive dental work or currently has generalized dental issues, a full mouth set of eighteen individual X-rays consisting of bitewings which show the posterior teeth (and in between) and periapicals which show the entire root and surrounding bone are needed. If the adult or adolescent new patient does not have any history of major dental work or has no evidence of current dental disease upon examination, then a panoramic X-ray and four bitewings is acceptable. At check-up time, four bitewings need to be taken of the posterior teeth EVERY six to eighteen months, again depending on the past history of decay, periodontal disease and quantity of dental work. Periapical X-rays should be taken every three years to examine the roots of the teeth to void missing abscesses and other boney pathology.