I had a permanent metal bar on my teeth and was told to remove my piercings but that the bar should be fine… what’s the difference? they’re both metal i thought?
In: Engineering
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Damn, I just realised 5y ago when I had an MRI, I might have forgotten to tell them I also have metal bar on my teeth. However, nothing happened with that. Mine is very very thin though, and glued on teeth
If the metal is ferrous, it is dangerous to have an MRI. Non magnetic metals don’t interfere with an MRI. Source: not a doctor, but I did stay in a holiday inn Express last night.
The braces are most likely made of non-magnetic metal (if it contains zero iron, the machine won’t interfere with it) chances are your piercings will be at least slightly magnetic .. stainless coated steel for example, and the machine will absolutely tear that shit out of your head.
Your braces were likely made of titanium. Titanium is not ferromagnetic, meaning the magnet will not attract it.
What MRIs can do to nonferromagnetic metal is heat it up. The strong magnetic field produced by the MRI creates an electrical current in the metal, heating it up. That’s why you need to remove any extraneous metal, especially if you’re not sure if it’s ferromagnetic. Certain medical equipment that can’t be easily removed (like braces) are an accepted risk. If you had something like a steel plate implanted in you (steel is ferromagnetic) you would not be allowed to take an MRI.
MRI metal risk is about two things:
1. The MRI magnet pulling on the metal
2. The electromagnetic fields from the scanner heating the metal
Additionally, the presence of metal can degrade the image, but this is more of an image quality than a safety thing.
A permanent retainer is small, likely stainless steel (which is relatively non-magnetic), and very firmly attached. Its presence may make the image slightly worse, but techs and radiologists know how to work around such things. Piercings may be made of a more magnetic material and have a greater potential to be pulled out. It’s not worth the safety risk to leave them in when when they can be easily removed.
You’re fine if all of your piercings and backings are pure titanium, which is not affected by magnets. But most people don’t have this, and those who think they bought titanium may actually have a cheaper titanium alloy that’s magnetic since none of that is regulated for purity. It’s safer to remove them all to be sure. But when your medical records show a titanium bar, they can be sure it’s not affected by magnets.
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