XRAYS

X-rays: Everything You Need to Know!

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X-rays are waves of energy that pass-through things. These x-rays have become a crucial part in so many health-related professions, especially dentistry. As x-rays are directed towards your mouth, they provide dentist with clear pictures of your teeth, bone structure, and jaw. Despite how long x-rays have been around, many people still have misconceptions about the radiation involved with taking x-rays and the health risks as well. Dental x-rays have been designed to give the patient as little radiation contact as possible. With the most recent technology of digital x-rays, they are 90% less harmful than x-rays taken and developed using film. Overall, dental x-rays are one of the safest types of x-rays used in day-to-day life and sincethey are proven to be safe for the use on people, we can use different types of dental x-rays for different reasons!

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There are two main categories which dental x-rays fall under: Intraoral (inside the mouth) and Extraoral (outside the mouth). Intraoral x-rays are most common types of x-rays and they provide more detailed images of teeth than extraoral x-rays. Bite-wings are a type of intraoral x- ray that detect decay between teeth, supporting bone levels, and show images of upper and lower teeth in a specific area of the mouth. Another type of intraoral x-ray is a periapical x-ray. These x-rays are used to show a whole tooth from the crown to beyond the root, this allows dentists to identify problems within the tooth, involving the root, and its surroundings. As for extraoral x-rays, the most common type used are panoramic x-rays. These x-rays take images of your entire mouth and jaw. They are used to see impacted teeth and the overall condition of your jaw. Collectively, these x-rays give dentists the ability to properly assess any problems and fix them, to help maintain optimal oral health!