It is one of the questions Dr. Tina Rokadia hears almost every day. As an Airway Dentist and Specialist Prosthodontist at SameDay Dental Clinic in Dubai, she sees children whose breathing, sleep, and airway health are all connected — and she needs imaging to see the full picture.
In a recent Instagram video, she addressed the question of x-rays directly — and her answer goes beyond the teeth.
Implants need bone to anchor into. The more bone you have — and the better its quality and distribution — the more options your treatment plan can include.
What are we looking for?
At SameDay, two types of x-ray are used for children: a lateral cephalogram, which captures the full profile of the skull and jaw, and an OPG (orthopantomogram), a panoramic image of the teeth, jaws, and surrounding bone.
Dr. Tina explains what these images reveal: “We often find extra teeth, missing teeth, cysts in existing teeth, teeth that have not erupted on time. We’re also able to see if the adenoids are very enlarged. What is the neck posture like? What is the airway space like?”
That last set of questions — adenoids, neck posture, airway space — is the airway dentist’s view. Enlarged adenoids can obstruct the upper airway and contribute to mouth breathing, disrupted sleep, and abnormal jaw development. Neck posture can reflect how a child is compensating for a restricted airway. Airway dimensions themselves are a direct indicator of whether a child is breathing normally at rest and during sleep.
None of this is visible during a routine clinical examination. A lateral cephalogram shows all of it in a single image.
How much radiation is involved?
Radiation exposure is the concern most parents raise, and Dr. Tina addresses it with specific numbers: “These x-rays are very low in radiation. They’re about the range of 2 to 5 microsieverts. And actually the background radiation that we are all exposed to on a daily basis can be between 5 to 10 microsieverts.”
Background radiation is the low-level radiation that surrounds all of us, all the time, from natural sources: the ground and soil beneath us, the food and water we consume, cosmic rays from space, and the air we breathe — primarily radon gas. According to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), the global average annual dose from natural background radiation is 2.4 millisieverts per year, which works out to approximately 6 to 7 microsieverts per day.
Published research on paediatric dental radiography confirms Dr. Tina’s figures: a lateral cephalogram delivers an effective dose of around 1.5 µSv, and an OPG around 7 µSv. The radiation exposure from these x-rays is in the same range as what a child already receives from the natural environment on any given day.
What about CBCT?
Dr. Tina goes further: “I would even recommend that you should not resist it if your doctor offers to take a CBCT for your child.”
A CBCT (cone beam computed tomography) produces a three-dimensional image and is particularly useful in airway assessment — it can map airway volume and dimensions in detail that a two-dimensional image cannot provide. It carries a higher radiation dose than a standard OPG or cephalogram, around 34 µSv for a small-volume scan on modern equipment, but it is not a routine x-ray. It is used selectively, when a specific diagnostic question requires it.
If your child’s dentist recommends a CBCT, it is because the clinical information it provides — whether about airway dimensions, upper airway anatomy, or another finding that requires a three-dimensional view — is necessary for making the right decision about their care.
The value of seeing the full picture
Dr. Tina sums up her position clearly: “These extra diagnostic aids help us to refer your child appropriately to an orthodontist on time or an ENT for a procedure as needed. Trust is really important.”
For an Airway Dentist, X-rays are not just about teeth. They are how a clinician assesses whether a child’s breathing patterns, airway structure, and sleep health are on track — and how early intervention becomes possible when they are not. The earlier these findings are made, the more options remain open.
Dr. Tina Rokadia sees patients of all ages for airway assessments, tongue-tie treatment, and sleep-related breathing concerns at SameDay Dental Clinic, Jumeirah Beach Road, Umm Suqeim 2, Dubai. To book a consultation, call +971 4 315 8300.
References
- United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation. UNSCEAR 2008 Report to the General Assembly, Volume I. New York: United Nations; 2010. Global average annual natural background radiation: 2.4 mSv/year. unscear.org
- Hennig CL, Schüler IM, Scherbaum R, Buschek R, Scheithauer M, Jacobs C, Mentzel HJ. Frequency of Dental X-ray Diagnostics in Children and Adolescents: What Is the Radiation Exposure? Diagnostics (Basel). 2023;13(3):394. doi:10.3390/diagnostics13030394. mdpi.com — effective dose: 1.5 µSv lateral cephalogram, 7 µSv OPG, 33.8 µSv CBCT; CBCT represented 0.4% of 9,680 paediatric radiographs reviewed 2002–2020.
- American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Prescribing dental radiographs for infants, children, adolescents, and individuals with special health care needs. The Reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry. Chicago, IL: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; 2024:313-7. Available at: aapd.org
