Diagnostic imaging in southern Tenerife
We have the imaging equipment in-house: if something shows up in your check-up that needs to be looked at, we look at it the same day. And this page tells you what almost no clinic publishes: how much radiation each test actually is — with the dose chart right in front of you — and why sometimes we will tell you that none needed.
Every X-ray is justified — as required by Royal Decree 601/2019. Written quotation provided prior to any treatment.
Quick summary
Each one answers a different question. Choosing the right test is half of radiation protection.
The small ones, stamp-sized. The periapical focus on an entire tooth — from the crown to the tip of the root and the surrounding bone: it's the one we use when a specific tooth hurts or in a root canal. The bitewing (you bite a plastic tab) it serves one very specific purpose: to see hidden cavities Come in two teeth, where neither the eye nor the mirror can reach — the anteroom of many fillings small instead of big.
The group photo: the two dental arches, the jaw, the sinuses, and the joints in a single image. It is the general overview for planning — of the wisdom teeth to bone loss periodontal. Its honest limit: it's a flat image, with overlapping structures — like a group photo where you don't know who is in front and who is behind.
Volume study: a three-dimensional model of the bone that we can rotate and cut in any direction. This is what allows measure the bone in millimetres and see where the nerve passes before placing a implant, evaluate a wisdom tooth attached to the canal or look for a canal that a root canal treatment cannot find. The machine rotates around you for a few seconds; you just have to stay still.
The upper molars have an air cavity above them: the maxillary sinus. When a molar is lost, the sinus tends to drop and the bone becomes thin. Before planning an implant there, it is necessary to know how many millimetres of bone are actually left, if there are septa within the sinus and how the membrane is. That cannot be seen on a panoramic X-ray — it is measured in 3D — and the technique is decided in implants and All-on-4.
The table that no clinic publishes
Each row carries a range — not a single figure — and its source. The values are typical for an average adult: your actual dose depends on your size, equipment, and technique.
| Exhibition | Approximate dose | It is equivalent to... | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intraoral radiograph (periapical, bite-wing) | 1–8 µSv | Less than a day of natural radiation | IAEA |
| Panoramic radiograph (orthopantomography) | 4–30 µSv | 1 to 4 days of natural radiation | IAEA |
| Cephalometric x-ray (orthodontics) | 2–3 µSv | Half a day of natural radiation | IAEA |
| Dental 3D CBCT, small or medium field of view | ≤ 50 µSv | About a week | IAEA |
| Dental 3D CBCT, large field of view | ~100 µSv | About two weeks | IAEA |
| — Context — | |||
| Natural background radiation | ~2.4 mSv/year (≈ 6.6 µSv/day) | The one you receive by living, simply | CSN/UNSCEAR |
| Spain–United Kingdom flight | ~10 µSv | ≈ one panoramic X-ray | CSN |
| Chest X-ray | ~100–140 µSv | ≈ a large field dental CT scan | RSNA · CSN |
| Screening mammogram | ~280 µSv | about one month of natural radiation | RSNA |
| Chest CT scan | ~6.100 µSv | ~ 2 years of natural radiation | RSNA |
Two nuances for reading it properly. The comparison with flights is approximate — in-flight dose varies greatly with altitude and route (1–5 µGy per hour, according to the Spanish Society of Medical Physics). And the wide ranges of 3D CT are not inaccuracy: A CBCT is not just one thing, it is many. — the small field yields about half the dose of the large one, and that fact explains the house policy that you will read two blocks down.
The rule of the house — and of the law
In Spain, every X-ray must be justified by law. Royal Decree 601/2019 puts it in those words: before each exposure, it is necessary to assess whether the test provides a sufficient benefit and if there is another way to reach the same diagnosis with less radiation — or without it. It is not an internal policy of ours. It is the regulation. What is ours is complying with it without exceptions: If we can see it without an X-ray, we don't take one..
The international guide goes in the same direction: the American Dental Association recommends requesting X-rays only when clinically necessary, and always after reviewing your history, your previous images, and what the examination already shows — never as an automatic routine for every visit. It is the ALARA principle: the dose as low as reasonably achievable, throughout your entire life, not just today.
In practice, you will notice it in small things: check-ups without X-rays when a visual exam is enough, bitewing X-rays at intervals based on your caries risk—not by the calendar—and an explanation before every test: what we are looking for and why this test and not another. If it is ever unclear to you, ask. That is the exact right question.
More information is not free: it is a higher dose. That is why a 3D CT scan is requested when it provides something that 2D cannot give—and not "just because it's there".
If you have had a panoramic X-ray or a CT scan elsewhere in the last few months, Bring it. It is not bureaucracy: it is the most direct way not to repeat a test you already have — the American Dental Association expressly recommends using previous images before requesting new ones.
And a detail that almost no one knows: We have to request them from you, not from your previous dentist.. Law 41/2002 on patient autonomy gives you the right to a copy of your medical history, including X-rays, but your previous clinic cannot pass them directly to us without your explicit permission, because that would break professional secrecy. The process is: you ask them for them, they give them to you, you bring them to us. The same goes in reverse: the images we take here remain in your history and you can take a copy whenever you want.
The other half of honesty: sometimes, even when you already have an image, we need to take it again—because it's two years old and the situation has changed, because it doesn't cover the area we need to see, or because 3D is required and what you brought is 2D. If that happens, we'll tell you why before doing it.
The search with the most fear behind it
If you are pregnant, always let us know. —even if you only suspect it, and even if you are here for something else. And now, the first thing you should know: Dental X-rays are not contraindicated during pregnancy. This is according to the Official College of Dentists of Santa Cruz de Tenerife—the college to which Dr. Rodríguez herself belongs: the exposure lasts just a couple of seconds, and the risk is extremely low.
The second thing is what truly changes in practice: During pregnancy we do not take routine follow-up X-rays. If it is something that can wait, wait. If there is an emergency or pain to diagnose, it is done — because leaving an infection untreated is not neutral either, neither for you nor for the baby. And you tell us for another reason too: pregnancy changes the gums, and there are more things to adjust besides plaque.
With the children, the bar is raised. There is no fixed schedule for children's dental X-rays: the frequency depends on each child's risk of cavities — with low risk, European guidelines suggest intervals of two to three years; and if none are needed, none are taken. Many children are more intimidated by the rotating machine than the test itself — how we handle this is explained in the paediatric dentistry page.
You may have the gesture memorised: they put the heavy apron on you, and without it the X-ray is "scary". Well, here is a fact that practically no Spanish website has updated: Since February 2024, the American Dental Association — with the backing of FDA physicists — no longer routinely recommends the lead apron or thyroid collar. in dental radiography, for no patient, pregnancy included.
The reason? With today's digital equipment and the beam limited only to the area that needs to be seen, the apron contributes very little — and sometimes covers exactly what needs to be imaged, forcing the X-ray to be retaken. And repeating X-rays is exactly what we want to avoid. Real protection is not in the lead: it is in doing only justified exams, with the minimum field.
In Spain, the recommendation has not formally changed yet, so here we treat it with common sense: We continue to offer it to you If it gives you peace of mind to bring it, you bring it; if you prefer not to bring it, that's fine too. What actually lowers your dose is what you've already read: not getting the X-ray that isn't necessary.
Nothing, in the physical sense: X-rays cannot be felt. In the intraoral, the only uncomfortable part is holding the little plate with your teeth for a few seconds — some people get a bit of a gag reflex, and it's managed by choosing the right size and position. In the panoramic and 3D, you rest your chin, bite down on a guide, and the machine rotates around you for a few seconds while you stay still. That is all.
Next comes the part that matters to us: the image is read with you present, on the same visit. We show you what is visible, what is not visible, and what it means for your case — it is your mouth, and understanding it is part of the treatment. The images are saved in your medical record: next time we will start from them instead of repeating them, and you can ask for a copy whenever you want.
And one more thing that almost no place writes: you can say no. It is your right. If you prefer not to have a test, we will explain what we won't be able to see and what that implies — sometimes treatment can still be considered, and sometimes, honestly, it cannot be planned safely without the image. We will tell you clearly and without pressure.
Transparency
Diagnostic imaging in the clinic
Orthopantomography (panoramic X-ray)
From €39
Dental 3D CT scan (CBCT)
90 €
We only order the test that provides useful information for your diagnosis. If you bring recent images and they are useful for the study, we will review them before repeating anything.
It depends on the scan: intraoral ones make up a small part of any quotation; the panoramic and the 3D CT scan have their own distinct value. When the scan is part of a treatment plan (an implant, a root canal), it is detailed in the written quotation, never as a surprise.
Flexible financing available for treatments; detailed terms and conditions available at the clinic.
Frequently asked questions
Among the lowest in all of radiology: an intraoral X-ray ranges from 1–8 µSv and a panoramic X-ray from 4–30 µSv according to the IAEA — the natural background radiation you receive just by living is about 6.6 µSv per day. A 3D dental CT scan rises to tens of microsieverts depending on the field of view. The complete table, with sources, is on this very page.
Dental X-rays are not contraindicated during pregnancy—as stated by the Official College of Dentists of Santa Cruz de Tenerife—and the risk is extremely low. Even so, during pregnancy we avoid routine check-up X-rays: only necessary ones are taken in the event of pain or an emergency. Always let us know, even if you only suspect it.
Why every X-ray must be justified — RD 601/2019 requires it and international guidelines recommend it. If the examination is enough to answer the question, there is no film; and routine bite-wing radiographs are done at intervals based on your caries risk, not on a calendar. The dose is managed throughout your entire life, not just today.
The panoramic image is a flat overall image: perfect for a general view, with the limitation that structures overlap. 3D CT (CBCT) is a volume that can be rotated and sliced: it allows bone to be measured in millimetres and the nerve to be located, in exchange for a higher dose. Therefore, 3D is reserved for cases when it provides something that 2D cannot give.
Many times, yes — and using them before requesting new ones is recommended. You have the right by law to a copy of your medical history, including images: you request them from your previous clinic, they give them to you, and you bring them to us. A test is only repeated if the image is old, does not cover the necessary area, or 3D is needed.
With children the criteria are even stricter: the frequency depends on each child's caries risk — for low risk, European guidelines allow intervals of two to three years — and the lowest settings for their size are used. If they don't need any, none are taken.
Physically, nothing: you rest your chin, bite down on a guide, and the machine rotates around you for a few seconds while you stay still. With small X-rays, the only slightly uncomfortable part is holding the little plate with your teeth for a moment. Afterwards, the image is reviewed with you right there during the same visit.
Yes — it is your right. If you prefer not to have it done, we will explain to you what we will not be able to see and what that implies for your case: sometimes the treatment can be planned anyway, and sometimes it cannot be planned with certainty without the image. We are telling you this clearly and the decision remains yours.
First visit
Full examination, imaging only when justified — and everything explained with you present, in your language, with a written quotation if anything needs to be done. Write to us and we will call you to schedule an appointment.
