Pregnancy · dental x-rays
Are dental x-rays safe during pregnancy?
Australian health guidance describes dental x-rays as safe during pregnancy, and a lead apron over the chest and stomach is available if you would like one. Tell us you are pregnant first, and ask what the image would change about your treatment. You can also decline.
What does the guidance say?
The Victorian Government's Better Health Channel lists dental treatment and dental x-rays together and describes both as safe during pregnancy. The Australian Dental Association states that x-rays can be taken during pregnancy, and that a lead apron over the chest and stomach is available.
The radiation dose from a dental x-ray is low, and the beam is directed at the mouth rather than the abdomen. You will notice this page does not quote a figure or compare it to a flight or a day in the sun. Those comparisons vary between sources, and putting a number we cannot stand behind on a pregnancy page is not a risk worth taking. If you want the dose for a specific image, ask at the appointment and we will find it for you properly.
Shielding matters most for the wider jaw x-ray, the OPG, which is where a lead apron makes the most difference. And routine x-rays, the ones taken at a check-up rather than to investigate a problem, can simply wait until after the birth. The images that are taken during pregnancy are the ones that change what happens next.
What is an x-ray actually for?
Most of a tooth cannot be seen. The parts that cause the most trouble are precisely the parts that are hidden.
- Between the teeth, where a great deal of decay starts and where nothing shows from the front until it is deep.
- At the root tip, where infection sits in the bone and produces no visible sign until it swells.
- The bone level around the teeth, which is what separates gum inflammation from gum disease that has taken bone.
- Wisdom teeth, their angle, their roots, and what they are pressing on.
That is why declining imaging is a real decision rather than a free one: it can mean treating with less information, or waiting until a problem announces itself. Sometimes that trade is entirely reasonable. It should just be made knowingly.
How do you ask for what you want?
Three sentences cover it, and none of them are awkward to say.
"I'm pregnant." Say it before anything is taken, even if you have not told anyone else. "Can I have the apron?" Ask, and it is a normal request rather than a statement about trusting anyone. "What would this change?" The most useful question of the three, because the answer tells you whether the image is needed for your treatment or is routine record-keeping that could wait.
If you would rather not have one today, say so. We will tell you what we can still do safely, what we would be guessing at, and what we would want to check later. Nobody will make you feel difficult for asking.
If you have already had one
People often realise afterwards, and then worry about it quietly for weeks. Two things are worth saying. Dental x-rays are directed at the head, and Australian guidance describes them as safe in pregnancy. And the person to raise it with is your doctor or midwife, who can answer in the context of your whole pregnancy rather than just your teeth.
Tell us as well, so your record is right. Principal dentist Dr Fatima Kurnaz, a general dentist rather than a registered specialist, reviews the clinical information on this page, and dental care during pregnancy covers the rest of what changes.
Other questions people ask
Can I refuse an x-ray?
Of course, and you will not be argued with. What we will do is explain what we can and cannot see without it, so the decision is an informed one. Sometimes the honest answer is that we can treat safely without imaging, and sometimes it is that we would be guessing.
Do I get a lead apron?
You can. The Australian Dental Association describes a lead apron over the chest and stomach as available for pregnant patients. Ask for it, and nobody will find the request unusual.
Does it make a difference which trimester?
Australian guidance describes dental x-rays as safe during pregnancy rather than restricting them to a particular stage. As with treatment generally, many women simply find the second trimester the most comfortable time to be in a dental chair.
What if I had an x-ray before I knew I was pregnant?
This worries people a great deal and it is worth raising with your doctor or midwife rather than sitting with it. Dental x-rays are directed at the head and are described in Australian guidance as safe in pregnancy. Tell us too, so it is on your record.
Why does the dentist need one anyway?
Because a large part of a tooth is not visible. Decay between teeth, infection at the root, bone levels around the teeth and an impacted wisdom tooth are all invisible to the eye, and treating without seeing them is guesswork.
Is a 3D scan the same thing?
No, and it is a bigger examination. If a 3D scan is ever suggested during pregnancy, ask what it would change about your treatment. At Y3 Smiles Dental those scans are referred out to an imaging provider, who would make their own assessment.