Ask The Dentist: X-Rays

The Newsy Neighbour Magazine

June Issue 104

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www.thenewsyneighbour.com

Dental X-Rays – Why Your Dentist Requests Them

If we’re not debating the pros and cons of fluoride exposure, there’s another topic that gets people all fired-up and that’s the issue of dental x-rays. Used as a diagnostic tool by dentists for over a hundred years, the need and safety surrounding the capturing of images is a common subject for conversation that can leave patients wondering what’s best for their health and teeth.

Are Dental X-Rays Safe?

The Alberta Dental Association and College, along with the Canadian Dental Association have a stringent protocol in place to ensure that all dental facilities providing x-ray services not only use technology that has been inspected and registered but also requires staff to wear dosimeters (devices used to measure cumulative dose of ionizing radiation) to measure exposure to radiation. The dosimeters are sent to a licenced facility (often Health Canada) to be reviewed and logged – and any exposure issues are acted on immediately. Safety measures are in place to ensure patient and staff health - and equipment is serviced regularly to meet association requirements.

Why Are Dental X-Rays Taken?

Dental X-rays are what enables your dentist to see what is going on inside the tooth and below the gum line. Infection, root fractures, impaction and abnormal tissue growth can’t always be detected by the naked eye, as in many cases the problem is actually inside the tooth or within the jaw bone. Your dentist can do a visual examination of a tooth and perform certain tests that will give some clues as to the tooth’s condition – but without an x-ray, a full and accurate diagnosis isn’t possible. Dental Decay that forms between teeth can be missed during a visual exam as no matter how great your dentist is, nobody can see the tight spaces between teeth and more times than not, a dental explorer can’t fit in these spaces. But an x-ray can reveal the health of tissue between teeth and show if decay is present.

Specific x-rays are taken depending on the information your dentist needs to collect. A panoramic, or panorex x-ray will reveal every tooth present – whether erupted or still below the gum line. This type of x-ray is incredibly useful in monitoring the eruption of permanent teeth and determining the position and health of wisdom teeth.

Langdon Dental