Chronic and repeated exposure to radiation may lead to

• A. A minor percentage of unrepaired effects that accumulate in the exposed tissues
• B. Immediate cancer in all patients
• C. No long-term effects
• D. Total loss of function

Answer: (A)

Chronic and repeated radiation exposure increases the total dose accumulated in tissues, so some damage from each exposure can persist and add up over time. Not all radiation damage is repaired, and the unrepaired portion can build up with subsequent exposures, raising the likelihood of late effects such as cancer or other changes years later. This is why dental radiography emphasizes minimizing exposures and keeping them as low as reasonably achievable.

Immediate cancer in all patients is not expected from routine dental radiographs, long-term effects can occur rather than none, and total loss of function is not a typical outcome at diagnostic dental exposure levels.