The Green Zone

Digital x-rays are a great example of eco-friendly dentistry in action! High tech dentistry is green dentistry, and digital x-rays are better than conventional x-rays for both people and the environment.

Annually, U.S. dental offices alone are estimated to contribute 4.8 million lead foils and 28 million liters of toxic x-ray fixer to our environment through the use of conventional x-rays. YUCK! A green dentist uses digital x-rays to reduce waste and pollution and radiation exposure for patients.

We invited Australia’s Churchill Eco Dental Care, an EDA member office that’s going through the GreenDOC™ certification program, to give us their perspective on why digital is better.

What are digital x-rays and are they really different?

Digital x-rays are very different from what has been used traditionally by dentists. Technological development has allowed for great reduction in radiation exposure to patients. Depending on where in the mouth x-rays are taken, digital images expose patients to between 75% and 90% less radiation.  Digital x-rays are also Earth-friendly because they don’t use lead foils or polluting development solutions.

Let’s compare radiation exposure from digital dental x-rays and other exposures.

The average radiation exposure people receive from normal activities like flying and walking in the sun is 3.6 millisieverts (mSv) a year. A typical dental x-ray gives out only 0.003 mSv, which is equivalent to less than 1 day of sitting in the sun or a single two-hour flight on an airplane. The maximum radiation exposure for a worker in America is 50 mSv a year, which would be like having 16,000 digital dental x-rays, which of course far exceeds the number of x-rays anyone would receive.

The benefits of dental x-rays far outweigh their risks.  By having regular x-rays according to the schedule set by your dentist, many dental problems can be diagnosed sooner, which often means easier and more cost effective treatment options.

Churchill Eco Dental Care opened surgery doors in 2008 with the aim of providing the best care for our patients. We have a deep passion in dentistry and pride ourselves on being the best provider to patients, the best business to our employees and the best organization to our founders Dr. David Le and Dr. Thomas Vo.