Ashley Carn Biology 1010 November 22, 2013

Radiation Affects All

Working in a Dental Office I started to get interested as to how I was being affected by the radiation given when I take countless x-rays daily. I wanted to know for myself if those around me were really getting affected and how long it would take to actually cause harm to them or to me. I am asked numerous times per day how much radiation they are getting by getting their picture taken once. Now I will have the correct answer to give to my curious patients but I will also be able to know for myself and for my life. Radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a vacuum, or through matter containing media. Energy released in the form of particle or electromagnetic waves. Common sources of radiation include radon gas, cosmic rays from outer space, medical x-rays, and energy given off by a radioisotope (unstable form of a chemical element that releases radiation as it breaks down and becomes more stable). (Cancer.gov) The biggest source of natural background radiation is airborne radon which is a radioactive gas that emanates from the ground. Radiation exposed from radon is indirect. Radon has a short half- life (4-days) and decay into other solid particulate radium series radioactive nuclides. These radioactive particles are inhaled and remain lodged in the lungs, causing continued exposure. Radon is consequently the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, and accounts for 15,000 to 22,000 cancer deaths per year in the U.S alone. (epa.gov/radiation) Dental x-rays do require a very low level of radiation exposure, which makes the risk of potentially harmful effects very small. Dental x-ray tools and techniques are designed to limit the bodys exposure to radiation and every precaution is taken to ensure that radiation exposure is as low as reasonable and achievable. We place a leaded apron on every patient that is going to be exposed to radiation. A leaded apron minimizes exposure to the abdomen and should be used when any dental radiograph is taken. Also a leaded thyroid collar can protect the thyroid from radiation and should also be used whenever possible. The use of a leaded thyroid collar is recommended for woman and childbearing age, pregnant woman and children. (American Dental Association) If you are pregnant, make sure you tell your Dentist. During your pregnancy, you may need to have x-rays taken as part of your treatment plan for a dental disease. I would suggest using the leaded apron and thyroid collar to protect you and your baby from the radiation exposure. Dental x-rays do not need to be delayed if you are trying to become pregnant or are breastfeeding. (mouthhealthy.org) So in other words, people that ask me if they are being exposed to a lot of radiation the answer is no. They are being exposed to radiation but ever so slightly. It would have to take a long time (because of how little the exposure is) to affect my patients or anybody. When I take the x-rays I am using a device called the Nomad which is a hand haled device that takes x-rays wirelessly. While being in the room I kept thinking to myself how I was being affected by staying in there while taking the x-ray. So I did my research and found on the American Dental Association website that the Nomad has little radiation and the person taking the picture is not

Ashley Carn Biology 1010 November 22, 2013

affected at all. The radiation on the Nomad is going opposite from the person taking the x-ray. So I am not affected by taking them. Radiation can damage good cells but it can also be a benefit and damage bad cells. Radiation therapy uses radiation to treat cancer. If youve ever had an x-ray of your chest or any other body part, you have had some radiation. This same type of radiation is used in much higher doses to treat some types of cancer. How radiation therapy works is it destroys damages bad cells in your body. Cancer starts when something changes a normal cell into a cancer cell. This cancer cell then grows and makes more cancer cells until a tumor is formed. This tumor can grow and cause a lot of problems. If the cancer is not treated, it can spread to other parts of the body and form more tumors. Radiation therapy is used to kill the cancer cells so that they dont spread to make more cancer cells. Special equipment sends high doses of radiation to the cancer cells or tumor. This keeps the cell from growing. Radiation can also affect normal cells near the tumor but normal cells can repair themselves and cancer cells cannot. (cancer.org) Now that Ive mentioned radiation therapy and the good that it can do it also has side effects such as feeling tired, skin changes and also no appetite. Other side effects depend on the part of the body being treated. An example of that would be if you get radiation to your head, you might have hair loss, or if you get radiation to your chest, you might have a cough or sore throat. The skin over the treatment area might look sunburned. Most of the side effects go away in time, but there are ways to help you feel better. If you have bad side effects, the doctor may stop your treatment for a while, change the schedule, or change the type of treatment needed for radiation. (hko.gov.hk) Some forms of radiation could consist of Gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet (UV) rays, visible light, infrared rays, microwaves, radiofrequency waves, extremely low frequent radiation. An important distinction that affects the health risks from radiation is whether the energy is ionizing or non-ionizing. Ionizing radiation is basically high frequency radiation that has enough energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. Non-ionizing radiation is opposite it is low frequency radiation that does not have enough to remove electrons or damage DNA. An example of ionizing radiation is an x-ray taken at a hospital with more radiation power than a dental x-ray. An example of non-ionizing radiation is like off of a cell phone, a television screen, a computer screen and a microwave. (cancer.org/radiation exposure) It is said that if ionizing radiation passes through a cell in the body, it definitely can cause problems in the body. This is what causes cancer, or the death of the cell. The amount of damage in the cell is related to the dose of radiation it receives. The damage takes place in only a fraction of a second, but other changes such as the beginning of cancer may take years to develop. Different energy levels can penetrate cells to a different extent, but all are capable of causing damage. (cancer.org/radiation) So by taking dental x-rays daily I am not affected. For my patients that get their x-rays every six months are affected but very little and next to no damage. We protect our patients by placing the leaded apron on them and the thyroid collar. It would take years and years for them to be affected by it to put them in harms way. Although radiation is very little at the dental office other places such as the hospital is exposed to more radiation but for a good cause. Radiation therapy gives those that have cancer a chance to survive.

Ashley Carn Biology 1010 November 22, 2013