Digital X-Rays Overview
Here at Pearly Whites Dental, we proudly offer dental examinations and digital x-rays to our patients. Dental X-rays are a useful diagnostic tool when helping your dentist detect damage and disease not visible during a regular dental exam.
How often X-rays should be taken depends on your present oral health, your age, your risk for disease, and any signs and symptoms of oral disease.
If you are a new patient, the dentist may recommend X-rays to determine the present status of your oral health and have a baseline to help identify changes that may occur later. A new set of X-rays may be needed to help your dentist detect any new cavities, determine the status of your gum health or evaluate the growth and development of your teeth. If a previous dentist has any radiographs of you, your new dentist may ask you for copies of them. Ask both dentists to help you with forwarding your X-rays.
What Happens During Digital X-Rays?
We start by doing a professional cleaning, removing all of the bad tartar and other buildups on your teeth.
We then do an examination, looking for any problems before they become bigger ones. We examine each tooth, looking for any signs of decay, damage, or anything else. We are also looking for any signs of infection. We want to correct any problems you may have before they get any worse.
X-rays are very helpful for looking inside of your teeth. We are looking for any problems we can’t see just by looking with the naked eye. We can often diagnose cavities much more quickly with an x-ray. They are also helpful for finding any gum or teeth problems that we need to address.
During your visit, we will also talk about good home care. We believe what you do at home really affects your teeth. For this reason, we will acknowledge any areas on which you need to concentrate so you can have a healthy smile.