Who Owns Your Dental X-rays?

This is probably one of the most common dental questions asked. The answer is simple but frustrating to the patient, who believes that since he paid for the x-ray, it should, therefore, be his property. Not so!!
Dentists are required by law to keep all dental records, including diagnostics, treatment plans and a complete history of the work performed by he and his office staff. The x-rays are the property of the dentist, but the patient may request a copy at any time, which the dentist is obligated to provide (in many cases, for an additional fee.)
Essentially, what you are paying for when you have x-rays taken is for the processing and development, and then for the dentist to read and interpret them and render a diagnosis.
Hope this clears up the issue for anyone out there who may have had this on their mind!