HELLO! Dr. Ben,
I’ve been doing my homework before my son’s first visit, and I must ask: are dental X-rays safe for kids? The word “radiation” makes me nervous. I want to make safe choices for him, and I want to understand what’s happening when those X-rays are taken. Can you help put my mind at ease?
Sincerely,
Doing My Research in Blue Springs
Dr. Ben’s Response…
HELLO! Doing My Research in Blue Springs,
Doing your research before your child’s first dental visit? That’s exactly the kind of thing we love to hear (or read in this case). And yes, this is one of the most common questions we answer from our newest patients’ parents. Let’s settle this once and for all. Dental X-rays are very safe, and the science behind that answer might surprise you.
The Thing About Radiation is That It’s Already All Around Us
What a lot of people don’t realize is that radiation isn’t some rare thing that only exists in medical equipment. It’s everywhere. The sun. The soil. The food on your plate. Even the walls of your house. This is called background radiation (also known as natural environmental radiation), and every single person on Earth is exposed to it every single day without even thinking about it. The average American absorbs about 3 millisieverts (mSv) of background radiation per year just from merely being alive.
The radiation used in dental X-rays is the exact same type of radiation. Yes, the same ionizing radiation we encounter walking outside on a sunny day, only delivered in an incredibly small, targeted, controlled dose.
Okay, But How Much Radiation Are We Actually Talking About?
This is where the numbers matter. At HELLO! Pediatric Dentistry, we use two types of digital X-ray equipment, and the doses involved are tiny:
The Intraoral X-Ray Machine (the one we use on the pediatric setting that takes bitewings and periapical images — the small, close-up shots of specific teeth): A single bitewing X-ray delivers a radiation dose of approximately 0.002 millisieverts (mSv). That’s the same amount of background radiation your child absorbs over several hours.
The Panoramic Machine (the one that swings around the outside of your child’s head to capture a full view of all the teeth, jaw and sinuses): This one has a slightly higher dose, typically around 0.013 mSv. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), even at the high end of the range, a panoramic X-ray is the equivalent of just a few days of normal background radiation.
For context: the yearly limit for radiation exposure set for U.S. radiation workers is 50 mSv. A single digital bitewing X-ray is 0.002 mSv. That’s a microscopic fraction of what anyone’s body encounters in daily life.
Real-World Comparisons
Numbers alone don’t always make us feel better. I think some real-world comparisons that put dental X-ray radiation into perspective will help.
- Eating a banana. Bananas contain a naturally occurring radioactive element called potassium-40. One banana delivers about 0.0001 mSv of radiation. A single bitewing X-ray is roughly equivalent to eating about 20 bananas. That’s a couple of weeks of school lunches. (Don’t stop packing bananas.)
- A cross-country flight. Flying from New York to Los Angeles exposes passengers to approximately 0.035–0.04 mSv of cosmic radiation. That’s roughly 18 to 20 times more than a single bitewing X-ray.
- Living in Denver, Colorado. People at high elevation absorb more cosmic radiation than those at sea level — about 0.4 mSv per year from living at that elevation. That’s the equivalent of 200 bitewing X-rays a year, just from living in a high-elevation zip code.
Dental X-rays consistently rank among the lowest-dose diagnostic imaging procedures in all of medicine. That’s not me talking; that’s science.
Digital X-Rays: The Part That Really Matters for Your Child
One of the most important things to know about X-rays at HELLO! Pediatric Dentistry is that both our intraoral machine and our panoramic machine are fully digital. This is a significant upgrade from older film-based X-ray systems, and it makes a real difference.
Digital X-ray technology uses up to 80% less radiation than traditional film X-rays. The sensors in digital systems are far more sensitive, which means far less exposure is needed to capture a clear, high-quality image. Digital X-rays are also faster (less time with the sensor in the mouth), produce instant results we can review with you right then and there, and give us better diagnostic detail, which means we can catch any issues earlier.
Learn more about our approach to pediatric dental care.
So Why Do We Take X-Rays at All?
No matter how carefully we look, there are things we genuinely can’t see without X-rays: what’s happening between teeth, below the gumline, inside a tooth’s root or under an existing filling. X-rays allow us to:
- Catch cavities between teeth in their earliest stages
- Monitor how permanent teeth are developing beneath baby teeth
- Check for infections, cysts or bone issues that have zero visible symptoms
- Spot potential concerns in jaw growth or tooth alignment long before they become complex problems
Skipping X-rays when they’re recommended can mean missing something that would’ve been simple to treat early but requires much more significant intervention later. The diagnostic benefit far outweighs the minuscule dose involved.
Related reading: Ask a Pediatric Dentist: How Does a Cavity Form and How Can I Prevent or Cure It?
A Note for First-Time Patients
If this is your son’s first dental appointment, you might be wondering whether X-rays will be taken right away. The honest answer is: it depends on his age, dental history and what Dr. Ben or Dr. Mikayla observe during the exam. Every recommendation is based on what’s genuinely in your child’s best interest.
And if you’re feeling any nerves about the appointment itself, that’s completely normal, especially for first visits. We’ve built our entire practice around making dental visits not scary for kids (or their parents!). Most of our patients walk out asking when they can come back.
Related reading:
Say Goodbye to Dental Anxiety at Hello! Pediatric Dentistry
The Bottom Line
Dental X-rays are safe for kids. The science is clear, the doses are small, and we take every precaution on top of that. Our digital equipment makes them even smaller. And every single one we recommend serves a real diagnostic purpose for your child’s health.
At HELLO! Pediatric Dentistry, we want you to feel confident about every recommendation we make, not just take our word for it. If you have more questions when you come in, please ask them.
We can’t wait to meet your son. (And you, too, of course.)
Best,
Dr. Ben
HELLO! Pediatric Dentistry
Have questions or ready to schedule your child’s first visit? Get in touch.
Sources & Further Reading
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – Radiation Doses in Dental Radiology: iaea.org/resources/rpop/health-professionals/dentistry/radiation-doses
Johnston Dental Care – “Radiation of Dental X-Rays: What You Need to Know” (2025): johnstondentalcare.com
