Dental x-rays

[berklynn]

My wife and get our teeth cleaned twice a year. We are both 60, great health, non-smokers. Our dentist does x-rays once a year. The results are never given,
and we both have no jaw/structural issues. Are these films necessary, or just
a money maker (our insurance pays most of the cost)?
Any dentists out there?

 

[travelover]

Consumer Reports suggests every 18 months unless there is a problem, so I follow that.

 

[SteveNU]

We're in the same situation and have stretched our x-rays out to 18 months. We don't have dental insurance so it saves us a little bit and since our dental health is pretty good the dentist doesn't have a problem with it.

 

[braumeister]

I used to worry about the radiation but after looking into it I find that modern dental x-ray machines hit you with such a low dose it's almost laughable.

The other thing is that when the dentist finds something worth investigating, the first thing she does is check the prior x-rays to see what changed if anything. Very useful and has streamlined the process for me more than once.

 

[Ronstar]

I used to get X-rays at every 6 month checkup. My insurance now only pays for them once a year, so that's what I do. But I just had X-rays done when I broke a tooth about a month ago, so i should be good for a while.

 

[Amethyst]

+1

Insurance pays for 1 set per year. Dentist has seen/fixed problems before they got bad.

The other thing is that when the dentist finds something worth investigating, the first thing she does is check the prior x-rays to see what changed if anything. Very useful and has streamlined the process for me more than once.

 

[Alan]

After we retired and not using dental insurance we used to visit the dentist every 9 months and have X-rays done every other visit. We continue to use a private dentist with no insurance and intend to continue the same frequency ongoing.

 

[Senator]

If you wind up missing, the dental x-rays are what may identify you...

I get them done when the dentist takes them. I suspect it is every year, I do not tell the dentist how to do their work.

 

[travelover]

If you wind up missing, the dental x-rays are what may identify you................

Nah, I'm in the 23and me data base.

 

[W2R]

I have been going to a good, sensible dentist for the past 18 years. I used to keep track of how often he does routine x-rays, and I think it was once a year or eighteen months.

In the past four years I have needed a lot of major dental work like implants, root canals, and so on. Sometimes x-rays are needed other than just those routine periodic x-rays, so that he can see what he is dealing with. So that adds to the frequency of x-rays.

My oral surgeon (who does my implants) has an amazing 3-D x-ray machine like something out of star wars, that rotates around my head and produces the most amazing high resolution images imaginable. It must have cost an arm and a leg. Anyway, with that super-wowie-zowie machine he picks up things that just don't show up on my dentist's usual hum-drum x-rays. So, whenever my oral surgeon takes x-rays he sends them to my dentist too so that I don't need more x-rays there. They are old dental school buddies.

 

[joeea]

My wife and get our teeth cleaned twice a year. We are both 60, great health, non-smokers. Our dentist does x-rays once a year. The results are never given,
and we both have no jaw/structural issues. Are these films necessary, or just
a money maker (our insurance pays most of the cost)?
Any dentists out there?

My wife is a dental professional.

If you haven't had any problems (fillings, caps, implants, root canals, spots being "watched", etc) for years, then there's no real need for annual x-rays.

Some dentists are overly conservative about these things. And since dental insurance will pay for annual x-rays, insured patients seldom complain.

But if you prefer not to have x-rays that often, just refuse. Have them taken as seldom as you like.

My wife tells me to have x-rays every two years, and we get them for free as a professional courtesy. I always listen to what my wife tells me to do.

 

[joeea]

If you wind up missing, the dental x-rays are what may identify you...

Dental x-rays for identification only need to be re-taken when something has changed (fillings, caps, root canals, etc). If nothing has been done to your teeth, then old x-rays will identify you correctly.

 

[travelover]

........... I always listen to what my wife tells me to do.

That's why you still have all your teeth.

 

[aja8888]

That's why you still have all your teeth.

And his wife....

 

[joeea]

That's why you still have all your teeth.

Happy wife, happy teeth.

 

[audreyh1]

Our dentist always show us and reviews the x-rays. They are shown to us on a computer screen. Sometimes there is a developing problem pointed out to me, but never DH!

 

[Sunset]

Our dentist always show us and reviews the x-rays. They are shown to us on a computer screen. Sometimes there is a developing problem pointed out to me, but never DH!

Same here.
We get them done once per year, as it's in our price paid.
They would do them if I walked in and said my tooth hurt, especially if there was no obvious cavity, as an x-ray shows the depth of a cavity inside the tooth.

When we were paying al-la-carte for our dental care, I would skip the yearly x-ray as there was simply no need for it, and I didn't need the extra expense. But I would get it every 2 years just in case something was detected.

 

[audreyh1]

Once our x-rays were delayed 18 months instead of 1 year and the dentist found a cavity between two teeth that was just about to break through into the inner tooth (or something like that) and needed immediate attention. So I've been nervous about going longer than 12 months for me.

 

[Bamaman]

I recently was talking to my regular dentist about getting an implant, and she was telling me our local dental surgeons take whole head MRIs for implants on a $400k machine. That is overkill.

I found an experienced implant dentist in another city that used a 3D stay on me this afternoon. And his price was 1/3 what our oral surgeons charge.

After the novicane shot took effect, the implant took just maybe 5-7 minutes. It was far less of a procedure than I expected.

While I am.not above paying for one's services, our local guys are charging far, far more than they should be for implants. It is something paid out of pocket, not by ins. companies.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Military dentists have done mine every 2 years. I think one time they went 3 years. No profit to motivate it more often than that.

 

[FIREd]

I get them every year more or less.

 

[Freedom56]

My wife and get our teeth cleaned twice a year. We are both 60, great health, non-smokers. Our dentist does x-rays once a year. The results are never given,
and we both have no jaw/structural issues. Are these films necessary, or just
a money maker (our insurance pays most of the cost)?
Any dentists out there?

You should get bite-wing x-rays once a year if you have fillings or root canals. They should do FMX (full mouth x-rays) every 3 years.

 

[NoMoreJob]

Consumer Reports suggests every 18 months unless there is a problem, so I follow that.

I think that's a good guideline as long as your teeth and gums are healthy and your dental history is excellent. We just stretch our cleanings to every 9 months (we floss and use our Sonicare's religiously) and do x-rays every other time.

 

[HadEnuff]

Retired dentist here:

When I was in school, in the 1970s the Standard of Care (SOC) was "bite wings" (typically the two images taken of the back teeth to check for inter proximal decay) once/ year. What they don't show are the front teeth, nor do they show the entire root of any teeth. I'm not sure what the SOC (if there was one) for repeating the full series that shows all of the teeth, and all of the roots.
I always wanted the Full Series (FMX) for my new patients, and if they seemed stable and healthy, the FMX every 10 years or so. The patients with active periodontal issues, my specialist wanted FMX every 3 years. I was nervous with that, so unless he bugged me about a specific patient, or things looked really unstable, I'd drag my feet and maybe do those every 5 years.
For real healthy clean mouths, BWs every 18 months, after consultation with the patient explaining the risks etc. I wasn't a real hard guy about it. I felt it was a personal decision. I may have been hanging my neck out there for a malpractice suit if we missed something (never got sued), and in fact, sometimes, after the fact, I wished we hadn't waited, but that's the price we pay for making informed risk-reward decisions.

Personal story: I would have my BWs every year, and my FMX every 10 because I was healthy and stable. When I sold my practice, the new doc put in a new X-ray system. I wasn't due for FMX but DW was working there and asked if I'd be a guinea pig. I said sure, anything in the name of science. So I had an FMX taken and lo and behold!! we found an infected tooth that needed a root canal that we would not have found without the FMX, unless it caused an abscess. So the "extra" FMX saved me a miserable toothache experience that may have compromised my chances for a successful outcome, or threatened neighboring teeth.
The number of times the FMX revealed painless, yet dangerous conditions, in my practice over 40 years is too high to even guess at, but it's a big number.

Is it a "money maker"? Well, yes, that's how dentist "make" their money, by treating and hopefully avoiding, big issues with early diagnosis.
Is it a "rip off"? I never felt I was ripping anybody off by keeping them out of trouble.

 

[wolf]

My wife is a dental professional.

If you haven't had any problems (fillings, caps, implants, root canals, spots being "watched", etc) for years, then there's no real need for annual x-rays.

Some dentists are overly conservative about these things. And since dental insurance will pay for annual x-rays, insured patients seldom complain.

But if you prefer not to have x-rays that often, just refuse. Have them taken as seldom as you like.

My wife tells me to have x-rays every two years, and we get them for free as a professional courtesy. I always listen to what my wife tells me to do.

+1 I only have xrays, I think they call them bitwing or something, when needed. When I had my implant, I think the oral surgeon used a catscan.

Very detailed image.