X-rays are essentially a form of electromagnetic radiation. They have a high energy level that can pass through the majority of objects, including human tissue. When x-rays travel through the air and pass through your body, they create different shades of grey to produce an image on a special type of X-ray digital sensor.

There are different types of x-rays:

• Intra-oral: An x-ray taken inside the mouth
• Extra-oral: An x-ray taken outside the mouth (like a Cone Beam CT)
• 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional

We commonly use intraoral x-rays, as they give us the most detail of the teeth, bone and supporting tissues of the teeth.

• Detect dental cavities: The earlier we find cavities, the more likely we can use preventive regenerative approaches. The later, the more likely you will have pain, need a Root Canal or lose the tooth and the larger the cavities the more difficult the restoration process will be.
• Check the health of the tooth roots: Avoid root canals and gum disease by finding bacteria early.
• Identify gum or periodontal disease: If periodontal disease progresses too far, it is almost impossible to treat, and your teeth will fall out.
• Check how teeth are developing: We monitor growth to ensure your children avoid orthodontic treatment later on in life. We also monitor your child’s facial growth and development so as to prevent poor growth occurring.
• Keep an eye on the effectiveness of our preventative purposes.

As a holistic dental practice, we believe that detecting problems as early as possible is essential to protecting your overall body health. It allows us to intervene early, which usually means we can address the issue with as little disturbance to your mouth and associated structures as possible. Our goal is to prevent infections in your teeth, and gums and save you from very expensive treatments.

The need for dental x-rays depends on each patient’s individual dental health needs. Your dentist will recommend necessary x-rays based upon the review of your medical and dental history, a dental exam, signs and symptoms, your age, and risk of disease.

A full mouth series of dental x-rays is recommended for new patients. A full series is usually good for a few years. Bite-wing x-rays (x-rays of top and bottom teeth biting together) are taken (check-up).

For extractions, particularly wisdom teeth an OPG (orthopentogram) is needed to examine the entire jaw. When considering orthodontics an OPG and a CEP (encephalogram) are also needed.

• We don’t just use our x-rays to diagnose, we use them to help prevent disease. We use  x-rays to find the little issues that can snowball, and this saves you a lot of money and pain when we find the disease early
• We take your concerns into account, so if you hold any fears of x-rays, and x-ray doses, we’ll be happy to discuss these with you and offer relevant alternative diagnostic options
• We’ve invested in the best possible equipment. We think your health is worth it, and we have the best x-ray technology that can help us detect those small problems just that little bit earlier