Radiation

Recently, some news channels have been making claims that there is a link between dental x-rays and the most common type of brain tumor.  Unfortunately, how the news is explaining it, it sounds like if you get dental x-rays, you are going to get a brain tumor.  A careful look into the actual research study shows that the results are not clear.  Since the study shows that there was a higher risk for one x-ray than for multiple x-rays, and because it relied on a person's memory to describe how many x-rays they had, it would be wise to wait and see if further studies come out that more clearly show a link between x-rays and brain tumors.  Remember, x-rays from many years ago exposed people to lots more radiation than the digital x-rays of today.  In fact, see the chart here from the American Dental Association's website.  In the chart, normal x-rays to see between your teeth at your cleaning appointment are a very small amount of radiation.  Getting x-rays taken are important to ensure good oral health for your teeth, gums, and early cancer detection.  The researchers who produced the study even agree that x-rays are important, and that we should all be aware of the risks and benefits.

"It Only Took Ten Minutes to Fix That!"

When taking our car to a mechanic, we can sometimes not understand the need for all of the 'diagnostics' done by the mechanic.  Even if the problem with our car only takes 2 minutes to fix, it may take hours to find, and it's only right to recognize that a good mechanic may still need that time.
Good dentistry requires time, especially because we are so much more complex than a car!  Each persons mouth is different, and even each tooth and the gums surrounding it may be different.  Remember that your dentist has gone to many years of education with the requirement to continually educate herself/himself.  In part, all of this education is to help the doctor determine what oral health problems a patient is dealing with, and then help the patient get back to good oral health.
In fact, when you go to the dentist for a "cleaning", you are really going in for a check-up.  Finding out that an old silver filling that you got when you were 10 years old is starting to fail is important.  Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent more problems in the future.