Get Dental X-rays, or go to extremes to avoid them?

freyasam

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I've called 25 - 30 dentists in my region. I found ONE who will *maybe* do fillings without xrays, but it causes me a lot of stress to see her (hours driving in traffic and because of anxiety and chronic fatigue, this is quite stressful to me).

I have 5 cavities. Got the 2 worst ones filled last December at a "biological dentist" who took lots of x-rays but used supposedly nontoxic fillings. One filling is already failing and needs to be redone. If I go back to the original dentist, it will be free to re-do, but there will be new xrays. Plus I need 3 more new fillings.

I know xrays are bad. But how bad, exactly? Are they worse than the stress of going to extreme lengths several times a year to get all these cavities filled, plus regular cleanings and exams?
 
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aniciete

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"DEXIS™ CariVu™ relies on transillumination to identify all cavities, decay, cracks or fractures in the tooth. The DEXIS™ CariVu™ system and camera are placed over each tooth. Infrared light causes healthy enamel to become transparent while decay and fractures become dark. This allows for easy, early, and accurate identification of dental caries and other concerns."

I am going through something similar and found a holistic dentist that offers this technology rather than traditional x-rays. Id assume its better than being blasted by radiation.
 

mostlylurking

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I've called 25 - 30 dentists in my region. I found ONE who will *maybe* do fillings without xrays, but it causes me a lot of stress to see her (hours driving in traffic and because of anxiety and chronic fatigue, this is quite stressful to me).

I have 5 cavities. Got the 2 worst ones filled last December at a "biological dentist" who took lots of x-rays but used supposedly nontoxic fillings. One filling is already failing and needs to be redone. If I go back to the original dentist, it will be free to re-do, but there will be new xrays. Plus I need 3 more new fillings.

I know xrays are bad. But how bad, exactly? Are they worse than the stress of going to extreme lengths several times a year to get all these cavities filled, plus regular cleanings and exams?
Have you offered to sign a statement that you have declined the xrays? Twice a year when I go to the dentist I have to sign another one. Apparently, the state (Texas) requires the xrays. According to Ray Peat, the dental xrays will bounce around and damage things like your thyroid and your brain. I've already got a thyroid that is not working, mercury poisoning from the dental amalgams, plus lead poisoning; I'm on a mission to avoid further damage. The last time I got a mammogram, they radiated me over eight times because they said they couldn't get that area next to my rib cage at the back of the breast. That was 30 years ago, never went back. I figure I've had my limit for radiation.


"DEXIS™ CariVu™ relies on transillumination to identify all cavities, decay, cracks or fractures in the tooth.
Thanks so much for this info! I'll look into it.
 

Badger

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Holistic dentists in my area all use "digital xrays" which cut down xray exposure about 80%-90%.
 
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freyasam

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"DEXIS™ CariVu™ relies on transillumination to identify all cavities, decay, cracks or fractures in the tooth. The DEXIS™ CariVu™ system and camera are placed over each tooth. Infrared light causes healthy enamel to become transparent while decay and fractures become dark. This allows for easy, early, and accurate identification of dental caries and other concerns."

I am going through something similar and found a holistic dentist that offers this technology rather than traditional x-rays. Id assume its better than being blasted by radiation.
I found two dentists in my greater region that offer CariVu. One still requires xrays and the other is the one who "might" treat me without xrays, and only the CariVu.

But it's a major stressful event for me to drive to see that dentist, with days of recovery due to my CFS, and I don't know if it's worth it.
 
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aniciete

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Thanks so much for this info! I'll look into it.
no problem
Holistic dentists in my area all use "digital xrays" which cut down xray exposure about 80%-90%.
this is what ray had to say about digital xrays

T said:
[I mentioned how dentists compare x-rays to the sun (like, you would get more radiation from the sun), how dentists say their x-rays are "lower radiation" than they used to be, they're better and digital, etc., how dental hygienists don't go running out of the room now, etc.]
Ray Peat said:
The comparison to the sun really is simply fraudulent. The only digital thing about the new method is the way the image is recorded and displayed, making the process very quick and much cheaper for the dentist, which is why they like them. But it’s the same old ionizing radiation. Hygienists who act like that are just stupid.
 
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freyasam

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Dentists trot out the line about digital xrays, too, not just hygienists (re: the Peat quote)
Have you offered to sign a statement that you have declined the xrays? Twice a year when I go to the dentist I have to sign another one. Apparently, the state (Texas) requires the xrays.
thanks, I'll try that, but if Texas state law requires that, why would a signed statement work? (I'm also in Texas and failed to find any statute specifying this law; I wonder if they are lying.)

Everyone I've called has been SO adamant about xrays that it didn't seem to make sense to make an appointment on the off chance I could convince them in their office. Plus they all treat you like a PROBLEM PATIENT!! if you go against their protocol.
 
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freyasam

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According to Ray Peat, the dental xrays will bounce around and damage things like your thyroid and your brain.
Maybe this is my answer: it's worth it to spend a few days a year driving far (and recovering after due to CFS) to a dentist who won't do it, if they hurt my brain and thyroid.
 

mostlylurking

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Maybe this is my answer: it's worth it to spend a few days a year driving far (and recovering after due to CFS) to a dentist who won't do it, if they hurt my brain and thyroid.
(I'm also in Texas
Are you anywhere near Marble Falls? I go to Nunnally, Freeman, & Owens in Marble Falls. I've been happy with them so far. Here's their twitter page: https://twitter.com/HealthyDentist .

edit: here's their youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HealthyDentist/videos
 
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freyasam

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Fllora

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What a conumdrum. I've avoided x-rays for several years since reading Ray's comments. I discovered that NO dentist in San Diego will even do
a cleaning without x-rays. So when I was in Cozumel last winter, I had a cleaning, and they visually found two cavities, both of which they filled,
though the dentist was not happy about doing so without an x-ray to see how deep the damage was. I understood that there could be complications,
but I didn't see an alternative. Then about six weeks ago, a tooth broke, and I had it pulled - in Tijuana. She took numerous x-rays to make sure she
was getting the entire root. I had no grounds on which to say no. I also saw a SD dentist afterwards, who of course wanted to take further x-rays, and I refused.
In order to see that dentist, I had to pay for an initial visit and cleaning - and of course x-rays first - in order to even get in the door. And I need to get fitted
for a prosthetic where the tooth was. I've not yet gone back to that dentist because I don't want the x-rays, and I don't know whether either dentist will fit me for the prosthetic without further x-rays. And it's possible more cavities are lurking. Arrgh.
After reading this thread, I just did a search for a dentist using CariVu in SD. Only one came up, and she has a very recent terrifying review.
I'm stumped.
 

biggirlkisss

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get the xray if it digital it actually does have alot less radiation but if you really want to know find out machine and look for spec sheet.
 
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I've called 25 - 30 dentists in my region. I found ONE who will *maybe* do fillings without xrays, but it causes me a lot of stress to see her (hours driving in traffic and because of anxiety and chronic fatigue, this is quite stressful to me).

I have 5 cavities. Got the 2 worst ones filled last December at a "biological dentist" who took lots of x-rays but used supposedly nontoxic fillings. One filling is already failing and needs to be redone. If I go back to the original dentist, it will be free to re-do, but there will be new xrays. Plus I need 3 more new fillings.

I know xrays are bad. But how bad, exactly? Are they worse than the stress of going to extreme lengths several times a year to get all these cavities filled, plus regular cleanings and exams?
I have collected a bunch of info on x-rays in this thread linked below….

“Now, people who don’t want x-rays are treated as crackpots. Probably because of this cultural situation, Gofman’s recommendations are very mild--simply for doctors to use good technology and to know what they are doing, which could lead to ten-fold or even hundred-fold dose reduction. Even with such mild restraint in the use of diagnostic x-rays, Gofman’s well founded estimate is that 250,000 deaths caused by radiation could be prevented annually. I believe many more deaths would be prevented if ultrasound and MRI were used consistently instead of x-rays. Using Gofman’s estimate, I think we can blame at least ten million deaths on just the medical x-rays that have been used inappropriately because of the policies of the U.S. government in the last half century. That wouldn’t include the deaths caused by radioactive fallout from bomb tests and leaks from nuclear power plants, or the vast numbers of people mentally impaired by all sorts of toxic radiation." -Ray Peat

 

Fllora

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get the xray if it digital it actually does have alot less radiation but if you really want to know find out machine and look for spec sheet.
Since your comment counters what RP has said, both in interviews and in an email reply to me, please document "it actually does have a lot less radiation."
 

Fllora

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I received this email from RP (RIP Ray!) in May 2022, in response to my question about alternatives:
"By carefully examining the color of a tooth a good dentist can effectively see below the surface. If the dentine is exposed, its quality can be detected by using a steel tool. Some dentists use a red light for the same purpose, seeing below the surface, but it’s mostly a gimmick to increase profit.
A person’s lifetime exposure to ionizing radiation can be determined by measuring the concentration of unpaired (free radical) electrons in their teeth."
 

Fllora

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And a client from Australia recently told me that there, dentists are much more conservative in their x-ray use, not including it in regular exams.
Is this your experience, any of you on the forum from Australia? If so, lucky you.
The only alternative I've found is crossing the border to Mexico, where dentists are not legally bound to use them, even though they
have been brainwashed to do so.
 

Aymen

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It's best to avoid it if possible, i got it for my wisdom tooth 3 years ago, just to avoid taking it in an old age if i decide to remove it, when i asked for thyroid belt the radiographer laughed at me.
 

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