How much radiation is in a dental x-ray?
- Less than old “film” dental x-rays: Digital x-rays have 50% less radiation than traditional film-based x-rays.
- Less than a cross-country flight: A flight from Los Angeles to New York City has 40 times the radiation exposure than a single digital dental x-ray.
- Less than a day on the earth: A single day of background radiation from living on the Earth is the equivalent of 2 digital dental x-rays.
- Less than a bunch of bananas: Eating 50 bananas is equivalent to one digital dental x-ray.
- Less than a chest x-ray: A medical chest x-ray is equivalent to 100 digital dental x-rays.
- Less than a mammogram: A mammogram is equivalent to 800 dental x-rays.
- Less than a medical CT scan: A full-body medical CT scan is equivalent to 6,000 digital dental x-rays.