Howdy,
I live in America (Texas), and my dentist recently changed his policy so that all patients are required to take yearly x-rays if they want a routine cleaning.
They don’t let you op out of getting an x-ray, they don’t let you sign a waiver, they make you take an x-ray before even looking at your teeth, or you don’t get service.
Since I don’t have insurance, I pay out of pocket, and am forced to pay for x-rays if I want just a simple cleaning. Usually they’re around $35-150.
I asked some people on a dental hygiene sub about it, and they told me that this was perfectly normal to do x-rays every year, and that most dentists will not accept you if you refuse, because “I can’t force a doctor not to do their job”.
When I talked to my hygienist, she told me that the radiation was perfectly fine and that Europeans didn’t even use thyroid collars. Then she turned the machine on and hid behind a wall.
Are you guys forced to get dental x-rays every year too? Even if you only want a simple cleaning?
9 comments
In Germany, no. Yearly check up is only cleaning and control, they don’t do X-rays. I think to get an X-ray you need to pay extra.
In Turkey… well, it depends. I have an implant, so if I go to the doctor who did it for a control, he does an X-ray every time. He doesn’t charge for controls anyway, so it’s for free. I don’t know if it’s the norm. Yearly controls aren’t on the agenda for most Turkish people.
I was never even asked to do an x ray before a cleaning, let alone forced to. I guess it’s good to get a full dental x ray once in a while to make sure everything’s fine, but can’t you change your dentist if you don’t want that? There are so many dentists where I live, I could go to a different one every time and never run out of them
I got it twice in my life – both times before extraction of “wisdom teeth”.
It’s common to have one regularly, indeed roughly once every 1-2 years, but it’s definitely not mandatory especially if you’re just going in to get your teeth cleaned. I’m sure many people go years without having one.
To me this sounds as if he or she wants to make money.
Most dentists I’ve been to in Germany only wanted to do an x day scan if there is a good reason for it.
Only once I’ve been to a dentist who shouted he needed an x ray just a few seconds after looking into my mouth. To me this seemed really shady and I never visited that guy again.
I got it once every 2 or 3 years. I think that insurance pay for it.
I gotten one x-ray for my dentist and it had a valid reason. Sounds to me like a scam to make them more money
I’ve only ever had an x-ray once to check on my wisdom teeth. After that never again. It sounds really strange to get xrays without any cause.
I get them like every third year, I guess. Insurance paid for it and the doctor recommended it, so I didn’t think too much about it. I didn’t know what [thyroid collars](https://infabcorp.com/products/thyroid-shield/) were so I googled them just now, and you‘re right, at least my doctor didn’t use them.
Besides, even if you were to get yearly dental x-rays, do you really think [that dose](https://xkcd.com/radiation/) of radiation will be harmful?