How often do your younger children get dental x-rays?
I had been taking my kids to the same pediatric dentist twice a year since my daughter turned 2 (she’s almost 6 now). That dentist had my daughter get her first dental x-rays when she turned 4. At that time, he recommended getting one every few years unless he saw a need for more frequent x-rays based on his examination.
Recently, I had to change pediatric dentists due to insurance reasons and the new pediatric dentist told us we should have my 3 year old get a routine x-ray (he did not see anything alarming during the exam). He recommended that we get our kids x-rayed annually.
I understand that the need for x-ray outweighs any radiation exposure if the dentist saw something concerning that needs to be verified by an x-ray. However, in this case, he did not see anything alarming and he fact that the previous dentist said kids need to be x-rayed every few years unless there’s a reason to, I’m wondering if he’s just trying to do what he can to bill the insurance company or if this is normal practice for most pediatric dentists.
My kids are x-rayed annually. I've been told by dentists that they simply cannot see everything and that the only way to see something is with an x-ray. If the dentist waits until something looks alarming with the naked eye, it's become a very big deal. If it can be seen by the naked eye, it is a big deal.
My husband works in the radiation field.
It is annoying to believe that an x-ray needs to be done every year if a child has generally healthy teeth.
To do the math: You will then expose your child 15 + times to x-ray the head until it leaves for college. Seriously, this is not healthy and not necessary. Add the additional x-rays the orthodontist will claim for when the child needs braces and add other x-rays which will be taken in other areas of the body because of a fall and an ankle was involved etc.
Use common sense here, Ebird!!!
The new technologies of a dentist with his microscope cameras, mine works with it, will help. I have 2 dentists in my family. They say if they see the child regularly they can see typically if it has problems with cavity. If not they skip the procedure until there is a different reason to check.
If cavities are there they will do a radiation exposure to see changes up above the gum line but again only if there is an obvious need.
Ask your previous dentist to send over the records of your child to the new dentist. The new one will be able to work something out with you.
My children are 8 and 11. The 8 year old have had one x-ray so far. It was last year November because the front tooth took more than 12 month to come in. We wanted to see, like Tadpole, if he was missing an adult teeth.
My 11 year old have had 2 x-rays, one was this year to see if she needs braces.
They are going twice a year to clean the teeth. Dentist visit once a year since they are 3 years old. We also are sealing the molars when they come in. Brushing twice a day is their routine. It worked for us. Both have no cavities.
Imagine J C's husband would have been expose since almost 45 years every year to an x-ray. No cavities he has but will have eventual other issues from electromagnetic radiation...
My dentist recommends once a year as well. I often have skipped the X-ray over the years however. It annoys the dental hygienist but the dentist doesn’t seem to mind. My husband is 45 and has no cavities and I have extremely healthy teeth too. I just see no reason for yearly X-rays.
My kids' dentist recommends every other year for my kid who is not prone to cavities, and annually for my kid who is prone to cavities.
Every few years is fine unless there's a specific problem they need to look at.
If you changed dentists - call your old dentist and have them send your records/x-rays to your new dentist.
Just because someone wants to do x-rays more frequently doesn't mean you have to agree to it.
The vast majority of dental problems aren't seen with the naked eye, so the x-ray is really good prevention. Otherwise, by the time a problem presents itself, the child is looking at a big cavity, and potentially more painful, invasive and expensive treatment. If the insurance company covers it, it's probably an industry-standard procedure. If they don't cover them as often as the dentist recommends, then tell the dentist you want to stick to the schedule the insurer allows.
What you might do is ask your previous dentist to send the last 2 sets of x-rays to the new one. You (or your insurance company) paid for those, so you own them. That way, the new dentist will have them at least for a baseline to compare against future changes.
I also think, with the rate at which kids' teeth come in, you wouldn't want to wait too long in between to see changes up above the gum line where all those teeth are sitting and waiting to push through.
Our dentist did/does every other year.
my kids dentist will not do an xray before they turn 6. unless absolutely necessary. my daughter has had 3 fillings and zero xrays. she just turned 6.
my son was 6.5 when they took one to see how bad a cavity was. and when he was 7 i questioned the lack of loose teeth, and asked for one. the dentist didn't want to do it. she said she thought everything was ok but for my peace of mind she did a full xray. (mom was right, he is missing about 8 of his permanent teeth, and his dental care will need to be ajusted based on the ones he has missing. ) they will not do another xray for this for a full year. or longer as they are hoping for those missing ones to spontaneously develop
so rarely if ever do they get them. and even though necessary the dentist does it the least amount possible
Our dentists always did every year to catch anything that couldn't be seen with the naked eye. So much is going on in mouths as they grow and I can think of several times that xrays were just fine one year and then something was caught of importance just a year later.
Our pediatric dentist took xrays once a year. Our regular dentist also does xrays once a year. It is better to catch something before it turns into something worse.
Our kids get annual X-rays. Keep in mind that the X-rays don’t just show cavities. They also show what’s going on in the jaw. They can show if there are problems with the adult teeth forming. One of my kids has a friend who did not have any adult teeth forming under some of her baby molars. It was discovered with X-rays. At my last appointment the X-rays showed I’ve started to develop calcifications (“stones”) in my salivary glands. Something that they will now be watching.
i doubt it's about the billing. it's just the normal practice.
my dentist recommends annual x-rays. i've gone through a slew of dentists i didn't trust for a variety of reasons, but now that i've finally found one i do trust, i follow his advice.
khairete
S.
Adults should get X-rays every year, I'd think kids wouldn't need less care than adults.
There is such a minimal exposure, I think it's silly to risk their teeth and health to keep them from having X-rays.
