Radiation Exposure
X-rays are a necessary and important diagnostic tool in assessing most conditions an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon treats.
We strive to minimize the amount of radiation our patients are exposed to and use the most technologically advance x-ray sources. In fact, our machines produce only a small fraction of the radiation a patient would be exposed to if they had their tests done at a hospital or radiology facility.
By way of comparison we provide the following information:
- On average, the background radiation a person living in the United States is exposed to is 3600 µSv/per year.
- Typical CAT Scan of the head at radiology facility or hospital is 860 µSv. This is equal to 87 days of background radiation.
- Images taken at the NJ Center for Oral Surgery roughly equals 2 days of background radiation exposure for a Panorex and 4 days of background radiation for a Cone Beam CAT Scan.