3 ms·

This sounds cool, my dentist is probably even cool enough to buy one when it's fda approved, but like the "wave form analysis" device they bought this year, it

by elif 1y ago

This sounds cool, my dentist is probably even cool enough to buy one when it's fda approved, but like the "wave form analysis" device they bought this year, it will only be used for specialist purposes and can't be used to replace x rays, or in this case periodontal proving, and almost entirely because of the slow moving insurance industry. (I even asked how much I could pay cash to replace x rays, because fuck radiation, the answer was we have to x ray you)

Night_Thastus 1y ago
Why are you bothered by the X-ray? From a radiation exposure standpoint it's not very significant compared to the exposure we get naturally.
- elif 1y ago
  One is background radiation we co-evolved along with and the other is targeted toward my brain in an instant. But even if you're comparing mSv to mSv like it's all the same, I'd rather take 33 hours of flight time per year. There is also a problem in dentistry with chasing ghosts that only exist in imaging and doing unnecessary work.
  - Night_Thastus 1y ago
    Radiation is radiation. We didn't evolve to perfectly handle the exact amount of radiation we'd receive naturally, nor do we struggle with any deviation from that. (Of course, not much XRay makes it down to sea level, but still) XRay is pretty finessed at this point. It's an incredibly brief burst with as little power to it as feasible. It's not like ye olden days where people just blasted themselves with radiation not realizing the danger. The knowledge and tech is really sophisticated these days - it's as minimal as possible. And if you don't get any XRays done, will you then decide to do more flying? Do you really budget your radiation exposure that closely? I'd be way more worried about things like nearby coal plants - both in terms of radiation and other health effects. Or Radon in a basement. Or smoke from nearby wildfires. Almost anything else nearby is a bigger source of health risk than ocassional XRays. If we're looking at an individuals health over their life, the increase in detection (or even just earlier detection) of all sorts of health issues using Xrays vastly increases average life expectancy compared to the tiny cost of the XRays themselves. It's not even close to the same order of magnitude. I get that sometimes doctors or dentists do unnecessary imaging of all kinds, and that sucks. It's costly in terms of time and money. But I'd much rather that then the alternative.

by elif 1y ago

Night_Thastus 1y ago

Why are you bothered by the X-ray? From a radiation exposure standpoint it's not very significant compared to the exposure we get naturally.

elif 1y ago
One is background radiation we co-evolved along with and the other is targeted toward my brain in an instant. But even if you're comparing mSv to mSv like it's all the same, I'd rather take 33 hours of flight time per year. There is also a problem in dentistry with chasing ghosts that only exist in imaging and doing unnecessary work.
- Night_Thastus 1y ago
  Radiation is radiation. We didn't evolve to perfectly handle the exact amount of radiation we'd receive naturally, nor do we struggle with any deviation from that. (Of course, not much XRay makes it down to sea level, but still) XRay is pretty finessed at this point. It's an incredibly brief burst with as little power to it as feasible. It's not like ye olden days where people just blasted themselves with radiation not realizing the danger. The knowledge and tech is really sophisticated these days - it's as minimal as possible. And if you don't get any XRays done, will you then decide to do more flying? Do you really budget your radiation exposure that closely? I'd be way more worried about things like nearby coal plants - both in terms of radiation and other health effects. Or Radon in a basement. Or smoke from nearby wildfires. Almost anything else nearby is a bigger source of health risk than ocassional XRays. If we're looking at an individuals health over their life, the increase in detection (or even just earlier detection) of all sorts of health issues using Xrays vastly increases average life expectancy compared to the tiny cost of the XRays themselves. It's not even close to the same order of magnitude. I get that sometimes doctors or dentists do unnecessary imaging of all kinds, and that sucks. It's costly in terms of time and money. But I'd much rather that then the alternative.