Are dental X-rays safe? The doses compared

Dental X-rays are among the lowest-dose X-rays used anywhere in medicine. A small bitewing film of your back teeth delivers roughly what you receive from natural background radiation in a single day of ordinary life in the UK. Even a full 3D scan of the jaws is usually equal to somewhere between a week and a few months of that background. For an adult, the risk from any one dental X-ray is very small indeed.

That does not mean X-rays should be taken casually, and UK law says they should not. This guide sets out the doses for each type of dental image, compares them with things you already do, and explains why a Turkish dental clinic like ours takes a 3D scan before implant work but not before every filling.

What "dose" means, in one paragraph

Radiation dose is measured in millisieverts (mSv). The figure dentists and radiologists use, called the effective dose, tries to capture the overall risk to the body, allowing for which organs were in the beam. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says the average person in the UK receives about 2.7 mSv a year from natural sources: radon gas from the ground, cosmic rays from space, and tiny amounts of natural radioactivity in food and in our own bodies. That works out at roughly 0.0074 mSv a day. It is a useful yardstick, because everyone already lives with it.

The doses for each type of dental X-ray

Doses vary between machines and settings, so the figures below are typical ranges taken from the UK selection criteria for dental radiography and published research. The point is the order of size, not the third decimal place.

UKHSA also gives an example most travellers will recognise: a long-haul flight across the Atlantic exposes you to about 0.08 mSv of cosmic radiation, because there is less atmosphere above you to absorb it. A flight from the UK to Antalya is shorter, so less. In other words, the flight to a dental appointment abroad can carry a similar or larger dose than the X-rays you have once you arrive.

Why 3D scans are larger, and why they are still used

A cone beam CT (CBCT) scan rotates around your head and takes hundreds of low-dose images, which a computer builds into a 3D model of your teeth and jaw. A 2015 meta-analysis led by John Ludlow pulled together the published dose figures for dozens of dental CBCT machines and found a wide range. Small-field scans of a few teeth were at the low end. Large scans of the whole face were at the top. The size of the area scanned and the resolution chosen made the biggest difference.

So why take one? Because some decisions cannot be made safely on a flat image. A panoramic X-ray shows the height of the jaw bone but not its width, and it slightly stretches and distorts what it shows. Before placing an implant, the dentist needs to know exactly how wide the bone is, where the nerve in the lower jaw runs, and how close the sinus is in the upper jaw. A CBCT shows all of that in three dimensions. For implant planning, the benefit of avoiding a nerve injury or an implant through the sinus is far greater than the small extra dose.

For a straightforward filling or a check-up, a CBCT would be the wrong tool. Bitewings and a panoramic X-ray answer those questions at a fraction of the dose.

The rules that keep doses low

In the UK, every medical and dental X-ray is covered by the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017. The core principle is justification: each X-ray must have a clinical reason, and the expected benefit must outweigh the risk. The second principle is optimisation, often summed up as "as low as reasonably practicable": use the smallest field and the lowest setting that still answers the question.

The UK selection criteria for dental radiography, first published by the Faculty of General Dental Practice and now held by the College of General Dentistry, turn that into practical advice. Some of the points patients notice:

• there is no automatic "X-rays every year": intervals depend on your decay and gum risk
• a CBCT should only be taken when a flat X-ray will not answer the clinical question
• lead aprons are no longer recommended for routine dental X-rays, because the dose below the neck is negligible
• a thyroid collar may be used for some views when the thyroid is close to the beam
• recent X-rays from another dentist should be used where possible, rather than repeated

Turkish clinics work under Turkish radiation rules, but the same principles of justification and keeping doses low are international. It is reasonable to ask any dentist, anywhere, why a scan is needed and what it will change.

Putting the risk into words

Numbers in millisieverts mean little to most people, so it helps to translate them. Radiation risk at these levels is estimated, not measured, because the effects are too small to see directly in any study. Regulators use a cautious model that assumes even tiny doses carry a tiny extra chance of cancer many years later. On that cautious basis, the UKHSA leaflet on X-ray safety puts dental X-rays in its lowest risk group, described as negligible.

The real danger with dental X-rays is the opposite one: not taking an X-ray that is needed. Decay between teeth, infection at a root tip and bone loss from gum disease are often invisible to the eye. Missing them can lead to pain, lost teeth or failed treatment, all of which carry their own risks.

Who should take extra care

Children and young people are more sensitive to radiation than adults, because their cells are dividing faster and they have more years ahead in which any effect could appear. That is why dentists are particularly careful with X-rays in children.

The reverse is also true. For adults over 50, who make up most of our patients, the lifetime risk from a given dose is lower than it would be for a younger person. UKHSA's leaflet on X-ray safety makes a similar point: the risk from a typical X-ray is very small, and it is generally lower for older people.

If you are pregnant or might be, say so before any X-ray. Dental X-rays point at the head, well away from the abdomen, and the dose to an unborn baby is extremely small. A necessary X-ray can usually still go ahead, but non-urgent ones are often put off until after the birth.

How we use X-rays and scans at Precious Dental

For a free written plan, we ask for photos or a recent panoramic X-ray. If you have had an OPG at your UK dentist in the last year or so, sending it often means we can plan accurately without repeating it before you travel. When you arrive in Antalya, our dentists take the images your treatment needs. For implant treatment and full-mouth implants, that includes a 3D scan, and the final plan and price are confirmed after it. X-rays are included in our full-arch packages, and every implant patient leaves with copies of their X-rays and scans, so a UK dentist can see them later without taking new ones.

If you are planning a trip and want to know which images to bring, our trip page explains how a visit runs, and you can ask a coordinator on WhatsApp before you book.

Sources

1. UKHSA: Ionising radiation dose comparisons
2. GOV.UK / UKHSA: Medical radiation: uses, dose measurements and safety advice
3. College of General Dentistry (FGDP): Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography
4. Ludlow et al. Effective dose of dental CBCT, a meta-analysis. Dentomaxillofac Radiol 2015
5. The Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017

Checked October 2026. Where we give our own view as a clinic, we say so.