BioE 421 Biomedical Imaging

I've been fortunate enough never to need a root canal. My mom,

however, was not as lucky and has had a few cavities that she needed
to fill in the past. My first experience with X-rays was in that setting. At
the tender age of 6 (or 7), I was introduced to a long tube like machine
that my young mind had no understanding of except to note that it very
closely resembled the shape of an ant eater.
The dental assistant came into the office and pointed the X-ray towards
various parts of the mouth, while covering my mom's body with a sheet
(which I now understand is to prevent unnecessary radiation to other
parts of the body, especially the torso area with internal organs). When
she would press the button, she would be outside of the room to limit
her own exposure to radiation.
At the time, I did not understand the purpose or mechanism of the
procedure, just that it seemed like a cool shaped machine. Now that I
am older, I know exactly the reason and the cost/benefits of using this
particular medical imaging device. The mechanism, from what I
understand now, is using ionizing radiation that penetrates soft tissue
and is absorbed by dense tissue of the body. For a dentist, the subject
of interest would be teeth to identify irregularities, deformities, or in the
case of my mom, cavities.
Although I do not recall the dentist providing the cost/benefit speech
concerning the X-ray, I have worked in a dentist's office alongside a
dentist and she has gone over the risks and upsides many a times. The
amount of radiation is very tiny, yet the image it produces for dentists to
be able to do the job immensely valuable. In this cost benefit scenario,
the benefits tremendously outweigh the miniscule cost.