{"id":99,"date":"2025-01-28T16:41:19","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T16:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/?p=99"},"modified":"2025-01-31T16:46:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T16:46:22","slug":"the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/","title":{"rendered":"Better Off Lead: The Departure from Lead Aprons During Dental X-Rays"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image-300x200.png\" alt=\"two lead abdominal aprons hanging on a wall\" class=\"wp-image-100\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image.png 975w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Think back to the last time you visited the dentist \u2013 it should\u2019ve been in the last few months if you\u2019ve been staying on top of your oral hygiene game! That said, you might remember being required to wear a lead apron as your dentist took X-rays of your mouth. But did you know that recent research has shown that the use of these aprons on patients when conducting dental X-rays is no longer recommended? Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Were Lead Aprons Once Necessary?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For several decades, it\u2019s been popular practice to have patients wear a lead abdominal apron or thyroid collar during dental X-rays, which are an integral part of oral healthcare. It was believed that these bulky, often colorful aprons effectively shielded patients from potential radiation exposure. Simply put, the level of radiation was believed to be problematic, perhaps even cancerous, and much like how the rest of dentistry is approached, it was better to be safe than sorry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Has Changed?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The American Dental Association (ADA), one of the most reputable dental organizations around, recently announced that lead abdominal aprons or thyroid collars are no longer recommended for patients during dental X-rays. This decision was influenced by extensive research and contributions from experts in the field, such as Dr. Alan Lurie, professor and chair of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology at UConn School of Dental Medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The shift away from lead aprons is rooted in the dramatic reduction of radiation doses in dental imaging over the last few decades. In the 1970s, a single intraoral film, which is the film inside of the X-ray machine that records images, exposed patients to approximately 10,000 micrograys of radiation. Today, that exposure has decreased dramatically \u2013 to about just 1 to 2 micrograys. This is a 5,000 to 10,000 times reduction! Such small doses mean that the risk of radiation-related complications is pretty negligible, which in turn means the extra shielding isn\u2019t\u2019 needed. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It might take some time for it to sink in, but the science is clear \u2013 lead aprons don\u2019t make a difference, so the next time you\u2019re at the dentist for X-rays, you can rest assured that one isn\u2019t needed. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Brian Lavery Family and Cosmetic Dentistry has proudly served the needs of patients in the Mercerville, NJ, community for several years, offering a wide range of preventive, cosmetic, and restorative services and beyond. If you have any questions about the blog or you\u2019d like to get in touch with the team to schedule an appointment, please contact the office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/contact.html\">online<\/a> or by phone for more information. <strong>Telephone: (609) 588-5600.<\/strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Think back to the last time you visited the dentist \u2013 it should\u2019ve been in the last few months if you\u2019ve been staying on top of your oral hygiene game! That said, you might remember being required to wear a lead apron as your dentist took X-rays of your mouth. But did you know that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Departure from Lead Aprons During Dental X-Rays | Dr. Brian Lavery Family &amp; Cosmetic Dentistry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Experts are now recommending that lead aprons are no longer needed during dental X-rays, due to significantly lowered radiation exposure.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Departure from Lead Aprons During Dental X-Rays | Dr. Brian Lavery Family &amp; Cosmetic Dentistry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Experts are now recommending that lead aprons are no longer needed during dental X-rays, due to significantly lowered radiation exposure.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dr. Brian Lavery Family &amp; Cosmetic Dentistry Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-28T16:41:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-31T16:46:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"975\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"brianlavery\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"brianlavery\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/28\\\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/28\\\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"brianlavery\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b8532257a9b005ed012b3017e5f637b9\"},\"headline\":\"Better Off Lead: The Departure from Lead Aprons During Dental X-Rays\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-28T16:41:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-31T16:46:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/28\\\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":457,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/28\\\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/image-300x200.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/28\\\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/28\\\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Departure from Lead Aprons During Dental X-Rays | Dr. Brian Lavery Family & Cosmetic Dentistry\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/28\\\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/28\\\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/image-300x200.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-28T16:41:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-31T16:46:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b8532257a9b005ed012b3017e5f637b9\"},\"description\":\"Experts are now recommending that lead aprons are no longer needed during dental X-rays, due to significantly lowered radiation exposure.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/28\\\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/28\\\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/28\\\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/image.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/image.png\",\"width\":975,\"height\":650},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/28\\\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Better Off Lead: The Departure from Lead Aprons During Dental X-Rays\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dr. Brian Lavery Family &amp; Cosmetic Dentistry Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b8532257a9b005ed012b3017e5f637b9\",\"name\":\"brianlavery\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5d88f5a618071671752dcdff55f5a8bba5d83bd2e00a7aef609478554bbc9e40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5d88f5a618071671752dcdff55f5a8bba5d83bd2e00a7aef609478554bbc9e40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5d88f5a618071671752dcdff55f5a8bba5d83bd2e00a7aef609478554bbc9e40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"brianlavery\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/brianlavery\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Departure from Lead Aprons During Dental X-Rays | Dr. Brian Lavery Family & Cosmetic Dentistry","description":"Experts are now recommending that lead aprons are no longer needed during dental X-rays, due to significantly lowered radiation exposure.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Departure from Lead Aprons During Dental X-Rays | Dr. Brian Lavery Family & Cosmetic Dentistry","og_description":"Experts are now recommending that lead aprons are no longer needed during dental X-rays, due to significantly lowered radiation exposure.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/","og_site_name":"Dr. Brian Lavery Family &amp; Cosmetic Dentistry Blog","article_published_time":"2025-01-28T16:41:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-31T16:46:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":975,"height":650,"url":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"brianlavery","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"brianlavery","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/"},"author":{"name":"brianlavery","@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b8532257a9b005ed012b3017e5f637b9"},"headline":"Better Off Lead: The Departure from Lead Aprons During Dental X-Rays","datePublished":"2025-01-28T16:41:19+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-31T16:46:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/"},"wordCount":457,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image-300x200.png","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/","url":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/","name":"The Departure from Lead Aprons During Dental X-Rays | Dr. Brian Lavery Family & Cosmetic Dentistry","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image-300x200.png","datePublished":"2025-01-28T16:41:19+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-31T16:46:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b8532257a9b005ed012b3017e5f637b9"},"description":"Experts are now recommending that lead aprons are no longer needed during dental X-rays, due to significantly lowered radiation exposure.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image.png","width":975,"height":650},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/28\/the-departure-from-lead-aprons-during-dental-x-rays\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Better Off Lead: The Departure from Lead Aprons During Dental X-Rays"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/","name":"Dr. Brian Lavery Family &amp; Cosmetic Dentistry Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b8532257a9b005ed012b3017e5f637b9","name":"brianlavery","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d88f5a618071671752dcdff55f5a8bba5d83bd2e00a7aef609478554bbc9e40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d88f5a618071671752dcdff55f5a8bba5d83bd2e00a7aef609478554bbc9e40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d88f5a618071671752dcdff55f5a8bba5d83bd2e00a7aef609478554bbc9e40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"brianlavery"},"url":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/author\/brianlavery\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101,"href":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions\/101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brianlaverydmd.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}