Your trip to the dentist should include regularly scheduled dental x-rays. An x-ray is an imaging test that dentists use to get a clear image of your teeth and jaw to be able to plan what course of treatment to follow. This may mean filling cavities, braces or just a regular pat on the back for good oral hygiene.
When having x-rays, various parts of your body absorb radiation at a different rate. The calcium in your bones draws the most amount of radiation. As a result, your bones look white after the imaging. Fat, muscles, and other soft tissues absorb less, which is why they look grey in the image.
Of course, a dental radiograph is not a one-size-fits-all diagnostic procedure. Doctors and specialists use x-rays to determine any possible oral care issues, such as impacted or abnormal development of the teeth, and even gum disease. They’re divided into two main categories: the intraoral and extraoral.
In this type of procedure, the x-ray film is placed inside the mouth. This type of radiograph is the most common among all the types of dental x-rays. Intraoral radiographs provide a tremendous amount of detail, letting your dentist find cavities and check the health of your entire tooth--enamel to root. Types of intraoral x-rays include:
This kind of procedure provides information on the jaw and skull. Unlike intraoral x-rays, this type of radiograph gives fewer details of an individual tooth. Here are examples and brief explanations of each:
This list is not exhaustive, other types of specialized intraoral and extraoral radiographs not mentioned. Both types of x-rays can be vital in helping your dentists create a comprehensive dental care plan and treatment specifically tailored for you. Hopefully this gives you a clear picture (pun intended) of how important x-rays are in making your dentist’s work more straightforward, and your smile brighter.
Rest assured that at Airdrie Springs Dental, we only use digital X-rays which produce the lowest possible dose of radiation