Dental X-rays
Dental X-Rays Provide Necessary Insight To Your Teeth
Dental X-rays, also called radiographic images provide an important tool for showing the condition of your teeth, roots, jaw, and overall facial bone composition. X-rays can reveal the advanced nature of periodontal disease, as well as tumors and abscesses. You should have dental x-rays once a year so your dentist will have a base line to work from.
There are three basic kinds of dental X-rays:
- Bitewings are the most conventional kind of dental X-rays and are used to diagnose decay between the teeth.
- Periapical x-rays are broad pictures of an entire tooth structure and are used to spot deep tooth problems, such as infection and bone loss.
- Panoramic x-rays are designed to view the entire mouth and have been used to diagnose tumors and cysts, as well as wisdom teeth.
Radiation Concerns
Patients have little reason to be concerned about the health effects of dental x-rays; chances are you receive more radiation from sunlight in one day than one session of x-rays.
Exposure to radiation is extremely brief and minimal. Safety precautions such as high-speed film minimize exposure time, and lead aprons prevent exposure to surrounding areas of the body such as the head, neck and upper chest.
Intraoral Photography
Intraoral cameras are an excellent means of educating by allowing the paient to view potential dental conditions in their mouth. By seeing what is happening in the mouth helps you understand what is going on. Your dentist can show you the problem on a computer monitor. This digital image can be utilized to provide information to insurance companies and other doctors if necessary.
We hope you find this web site useful and invite you to contact us with your questions at any time.
Call us at 208-377-2160
