It just seems wrong. That is holding the x-ray tube in your hands and shooting an x-ray. It scares people even though the research shows it is perfectly safe. The first handheld X-Ray unit to be approved for use in the US is the Nomad from Aribex. The article linked below quotes independent research that indicates handheld x -ray units are just as safe as the old fashioned wall mounted kind.
…the NOMAD handheld dental x-ray system produces staff radiation exposure doses so low that the vast majority of users received no measurable radiation dose.