Dental film or EZA

Images of individual teeth are called dental films. When taking such a single image, a so-called tooth film is placed directly behind the teeth and a freely rotating X-ray source is placed outside the mouth so that the desired area is ideally imaged. In contrast to the orthopanthomogram or bite wing radiographs, dental films impress with their unsurpassed detail accuracy; even the smallest defects can be imaged particularly sharply and thus ideally assessed.

In the past, several dental films were often made when x-raying the teeth in order to be able to assess the entire jaw, similar to an orthopanthomogram. This procedure is no longer used due to the comparatively high radiation exposure during X-ray. Dental films are now only made to evaluate individual teeth or groups of teeth, and only OPGs or bite wing images are taken to obtain an overview. Only in the context of periodontal disease is it still possible to work with several EZAs.

Is it allowed to x-ray the teeth during pregnancy?

It is also possible to X-ray the teeth of pregnant women during pregnancy. Depending on the imaging technique used, the X-ray exposure that occurs when a tooth is X-rayed is between 0.003 and 0.054 mSv. The more modern the X-ray machine, the lower the radiation exposure.

Theoretically, damage to the unborn child can only be expected from 30 mSV, which means that a pregnant woman’s tooth would have to be X-rayed more than 500 times before the foetus could be damaged. However, since fruit damage can never be ruled out, it is advisable to carry out X-rays during pregnancy only in an emergency. This is the case, for example, if the mother’s life is in danger or if there is very severe toothache. If the exposure cannot be avoided, the exposure should be kept as low as possible.For this purpose, the lead apron must be put on correctly and the exposure technique with the lowest possible dose must be used.