Don't have any problems with my teeth, just wanted a cleaning. Tried three times to schedule with no callback. Then got a call to confirm an appointment that was not for the cleaning I was trying to get. I was told after the exam and X-rays I apparently waited 3 months to get, I would be scheduled for a cleaning another four months out. I inquired about what X-rays would be done. I was told I would receive 18 X-rays. I wanted to decline for medical reasons but was then told it was the law. No, it's not! They refused to even consider my health history. Canceled my appointment.
"ADA/FDA Guide to Patient Selection for Dental Radiographic Examinations
The ADA, in collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), developed recommendations for dental radiographic examinations to serve as an adjunct to the dentist's professional judgment of how to best use diagnostic imaging.2 Radiographs can help the dentist evaluate and definitively diagnose many oral diseases and conditions. However, the dentist must weigh the benefits of taking dental radiographs against the risk of exposing a patient to X-rays, the effects of which accumulate from multiple sources over time. The dentist, knowing the patient's health history and vulnerability to oral disease, is in the best position to make this judgment. For this reason, the recommendations are intended to serve as a resource for the practitioner and are not intended to be standards of care, nor requirements or regulations."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/well/why-does-my-dentist-give-me-so-many-x-rays.html#:~:text=Dentists%20should%20not%20rely%20on,X%2Drays%20for%20specific%20reasons.&text=%E2%80%9CIt%20has%20to%20be%20personalized%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20Dr.
Some quotes from the above article:
"However, a full mouth series, which involves both bitewings and a periapical X-ray of each tooth, should be reserved for patients with extensive past dental treatment or a mouthful of active decay, according to the A.D.A."
"That said, dentists should be able to justify the importance of any X-ray. "Ask them, 'What specifically are you concerned about in my mouth that warrants all these X-rays?'" Dr. Dirks said. "And if a dentist says it's our protocol, that's not a good enough answer."" read more