Why do I need x-rays?
We are often asked “why do I need dental x-rays?” When it comes to managing your own health and your family's healthcare, it is always wise to be well-informed about the reason why any type of x-ray is needed.
Our dentists will recommend dental x-rays periodically to look for cavities, jaw bone loss, tooth abscesses or jaw tumors below the gum line that they cannot see with a visual exam.
Dental X-rays at Middle Georgia Family Dentistry
As dental professionals, we strictly follow regulatory guidelines for dental x-rays to keep our patients and our team safe. We also use digital x-ray imaging systems that require significantly less radiation than the film x-rays of the past.
Fundamentally, dental x-rays show the density of dental structures:
- White sections on a dental x-ray indicate a hard structure, such as a dental crown or silver filling.
- Grayish-white areas on a dental x-ray are generally tooth structure, jaw bone, or a tooth-colored filling.
- Dark gray to nearly black sections of a dental x-ray indicates less dense structures, such as tooth nerves, the sinus cavity or gum tissue.
When viewing a dental x-ray, the dentist is looking for shadows in areas that should be white, this could be a sign of decay, bone loss or infection. Or, white areas that should be gray or dark may be an indication of hard tooth calculus, a defective restoration, jaw tumor or bony growth.
Types of Dental X-rays
Different dental x-ray views show details of specific areas of importance:
- Bitewings or cavity x-rays show areas between the teeth, how the bite comes together and the level of jaw bone around the teeth.
- Periapical x-rays are used to view individual teeth in detail, including the tooth roots and the bone level around the top of the tooth and along the tooth roots.
- Panoramic x-rays provide a 2-dimensional view of the entire jaw bone (especially helpful for looking for wisdom teeth or third molars).
- CT images are used to view the jaw bone, some areas of facial bone and the tooth roots from multiple angles in a 3-dimensional view. 3D imaging is frequently used for placement of dental implants, oral surgery procedures, root canal treatment or orthodontics.
Dental x-rays are recommended for both children and adults at regular intervals to monitor changes in dental health as part of our preventive dentistry program in our practice.
If you have never seen x-rays of your own teeth, be sure to ask your Middle Georgia dentist to review them with you during your next dental exam. We always want you to be fully informed about your own dental health and feel comfortable with having dental x-rays taken when necessary.
Please do not hesitate to contact our Middle Georgia Dentistry Team if you have questions about dental x-rays or would like to schedule a complete dental examination at our Dublin dental office.