Radiation Concerns Regarding New Dental Technology

Advancement in technology does not only stop with computer gadgets and mobile phones. Medical technology has reached a great extent wherein dental clinics have more powerful tools that makes dental procedures easier to perform. One latest breakthrough is the Cone Beam Computer Tomography which generates 3D images of the jaw, teeth, and skull of the patients. It helps dentists make extractions and implants easier to do. It allows dental surgery to be less painful and invasive to the patient. However, the machine uses x-ray where it navigates around the patients head to capture images and then generate a 3D rendition of it.

Although the old method still used x-rays, the conventional way only focused on one area where there is an issue. However with the Cone Beam, the radiation is greater and that even the eyes are part of its scope as it navigates.

A lot of dentists are worried as this has been currently used even for installing braces on children. However other proponents of this machine dispute that the radiation that the patient is exposed to is safe as dentists are professionals who are careful in patients with unnecessary radiation.

Yet the issue comes with the fact that dental clinics are not like hospitals wherein there are radiologists who can expertly handle the machine. As they say, no one can really monitor each clinic on how the machine is handled or who even handles the machine. Furthermore, the problem is that the side effects of radiation may not be automatically seen. We really cannot tell what will happen to us in the future after being exposed to so much radiation.

Some would say that we are already exposed to some sort of radiation every single day and that the issue on the dental equipment is just overblown.

But the sad fact still remains that we are greatly exposed to disease causing agents. Sometimes we do not have any knowledge about the dangers of a certain equipment only to find out later its adverse effects on our health.

There may even be procedures that can occur using this machine without the necessity of doing so. These may be ethical issues surrounding the profession but no one can say that using the machine is safe because professionals are handling it. For new technology to make a great impact in the medical field, it should not compromise the overall health of the patient. It is still a matter of resolving a certain issue with the proper tool and procedure without detriment.

Source: http://health.ezinemark.com/radiation-concerns-regarding-new-dental-technology-7d2ed5dbc238.html

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