To correct my teeth, I go to the hospital every month. The doctor asks me to take a X-ray of the apex of my teeth. Is there any radiation? How to reduce damage to the body?

Hazards of Radiation

CT examination is a type of X-ray examination, and of harm. The radiation dose of a scan, in addition to the dose within the scanning layer, there is also a considerable dose of scattered radiation in areas outside the scanning range. Breaking of the DNA double helix structure is a critical damage that affects cells. Radiation-induced mutated genes or increased aberrations from the double helix break can ultimately lead to cancer.

Children are more sensitive than adults

When adult radiation doses are used on newborns or young children, the dose effect increases by more than 50%. This result is due to the fact that for large objects (adults) the central dose is half the surface dose, whereas for small objects (children) the central dose is almost the full surface dose. In addition, children are more than 10 times more sensitive to the effects of radiation than middle-aged adults, and girls are more sensitive to radiation than boys. The risk of cancer death from radiation exposure in children is estimated to be 2-4 times higher per dose unit than in adults, and children's rapid cell proliferation and their longer average lifespan both increase the risk of sequelae.

Factors affecting radiation damage

Biological effects caused by X-rays acting on the body: Nature of radiation (type and energy), X-ray dose, dose rate, irradiation method, and irradiation site and scope; at the same time, it also has a certain degree of difference with age, gender, health, mental state, nutrition, etc.; at the same time, there are also differences in the susceptibility of tissues to X-ray irradiation:

Highly susceptible tissues : Hematopoietic tissue, lymphoid tissue, gonads, intestinal epithelium, fetus. Medium and high sensitivity tissues: oral mucosa, salivary glands, hair, sweat glands, skin, capillaries, and eye lens. Medium-sensitive tissues: brain, lungs, pleura, kidneys, renal glands, liver, and blood vessels. Medium and low sensitive tissues: thyroid, spleen, joints, bones, cartilage. Low sensitivity tissues: adipose tissue, nervous tissue, connective tissue.

View more good doctor information