What Is a DEXA Scan?
The Gold Standard for Body Composition & Bone Health

No preparation is needed for a scan at Desert Dexa. Eat, drink and take your medications normally — DEXA is not affected by a recent meal or your hydration the way bioimpedance devices are. The one thing that matters is clothing without metal: zippers, underwire and belt buckles sit in the scan field.

A DEXA (or DXA) scan uses two low-dose x-ray energies to separate your body into fat, lean tissue and bone. That separation is why it can report each arm and each leg individually rather than one whole-body figure. Desert Dexa runs clinical-grade DEXA scanners at our Rancho Mirage, San Dimas, and Temecula locations in Southern California, for body composition and for bone density.

About 15 minutes on the table at any Desert Dexa location, or roughly 20 for the Combo. You lie still, fully clothed, while the scanner arm passes over you — nothing touches you and nothing is injected. A technician reviews your Total Body results with you at the end of the visit; the Osteoporosis Screening report is written by a radiologist and follows within about 3 days.

At Desert Dexa, the Total Body (body composition) scan starts at $50, the Osteoporosis Screening scan starts at $80, and the Combo, which includes both, starts at $100. Monthly and quarterly options are available for each. We are cash-pay and accept credit and debit cards, so the price you book at is the price you pay — no facility fee and no separate radiology bill.

No. You book online and come in, including for the osteoporosis screening scan. Most providers make you obtain a physician order first; our own physician orders the scan, so there is nothing for you to chase and no insurance pre-authorization to wait on. The report is written so you can hand it straight to your own physician afterwards.

Yes. A DEXA scan uses an extremely low dose of x-ray radiation, comparable to what you would receive from eating three bananas, and it is considered very safe for most people. Desert Dexa does not scan anyone who is pregnant or may be pregnant, or who has had a contrast or nuclear medicine study in the past seven days.

Comfortable clothing with no metal on it. Metal — zippers, buttons, underwire — sits in the scan field and can affect accuracy, so activewear such as leggings and a plain T-shirt is ideal, and a sports bra is preferable for women. You stay fully clothed throughout the scan at Desert Dexa.

For body composition, many Desert Dexa clients scan every month to see how training and nutrition are moving fat and lean mass, which is why we offer monthly and quarterly options alongside one-time scans. For bone density, follow-up timing is a clinical decision your physician makes from your first T-score and your risk factors.

No. Desert Dexa is cash-pay and accepts credit and debit cards only. That is what keeps the price flat and the wait short — there is nothing to authorize and no claim to file. Many clients find it costs less than what a copay or deductible would have taken.

Bioimpedance scales and handheld analyzers pass a current through you and infer the rest, which is why the reading moves when you drink water. DEXA images tissue directly. Desert Dexa uses clinical-grade DEXA and reports regional and total body fat, lean mass by limb and bone density from one 15-minute scan — measurements a scale, calipers or a gym analyzer cannot produce.

Yes, and every Desert Dexa Total Body scan reports it as its own value rather than an add-on. Visceral fat sits around your organs rather than under your skin, so neither a scale nor a mirror gives any read on it, and it tracks with metabolic risk more closely than total weight does.

Bone loss is silent — most people have no idea where they stand until a fracture proves it. A Desert Dexa osteoporosis screening scan measures your hips and spine and returns a T-score, a Z-score and BMD for each site, with a radiologist's final interpretation you can take to your doctor.

You stay fully clothed and lie still on a padded table while the scanner arm passes over you. Nothing touches you, nothing is injected, and there is no tunnel or enclosure. It takes about 15 minutes for a single scan and roughly 20 for the Combo. A Desert Dexa technician positions you at the start and reviews your Total Body results with you at the end.

Your Total Body (body composition) results are reviewed with you at the end of your visit at Desert Dexa — you do not go home waiting on them. The Osteoporosis Screening report is different: it is written by an independent board-certified radiologist and reaches you within about 3 days.

How to read your DEXA scan results

More than 10 pages. Fat and lean mass overall and by region, muscle symmetry comparing your left side against your right, and visceral fat as its own value. Then resting metabolic rate derived from your measured lean mass, and Appendicular Lean Mass Index. It also reports total body bone mineral density with a T-score and Z-score, plus regional readings for arms, ribs, legs, spine, trunk and pelvis. It also includes a guide to interpreting your own results.

A walkthrough of the Total Body report

Yes — both reports are yours to share. The Desert Dexa Osteoporosis Screening report is written by the radiologist and designed to hand off to your physician, with T-score, Z-score and BMD for each femur and the spine, and osteoporosis or osteopenia indications where they apply. The Total Body (body composition) report can be shared the same way.

Understanding your bone density results

Yes. DEXA accuracy depends on calibration and a stable scanning environment. Desert Dexa's scanners are fixed-site clinical systems in permanent rooms — not mobile units transported in vans and re-levelled in a parking lot — which is what makes your second scan genuinely comparable to your first. We also offer both body composition analysis and clinical osteoporosis screening with independent radiologist interpretation; most providers offer one or the other.

Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry. You may also see it written as DXA. It uses two low-energy x-ray beams at different energy levels to distinguish between fat, lean tissue, and bone in your body.

Very little. A DEXA scan exposes you to about 1-4 microsieverts of radiation — roughly the same as eating 3-4 bananas or spending a couple hours outdoors. For comparison, a chest x-ray is about 20 microsieverts, and a CT scan can be 7,000 microsieverts or more.

A DEXA scan can be used for bone density testing, but it can also measure body composition (body fat, muscle mass, visceral fat). At Desert Dexa, we offer both: a total body composition scan and an osteoporosis screening scan that focuses on the hips and spine.

DEXA is the clinical gold standard. Bioimpedance devices like InBody scales can be off by 5-10% depending on hydration and meal timing. Calipers depend on the skill of the person measuring. DEXA provides consistent, repeatable measurements that are trusted in research and clinical settings.

No. You lie on a padded table fully clothed while a scanner arm passes over you. There are no injections, no enclosed spaces, no discomfort. Most people say it is the easiest medical test they have ever had.

Anyone who wants accurate data about their body composition or bone health. Common reasons include tracking a fitness program, monitoring weight loss, checking visceral fat, screening for osteoporosis, or simply establishing a health baseline.

InBody uses bioelectrical impedance — it sends an electrical current through your body and estimates composition based on resistance. It is sensitive to hydration, recent meals, and exercise. DEXA uses x-ray technology and directly measures fat, lean tissue, and bone. DEXA is significantly more accurate and is the method used in clinical research.