The Importance of Dental X-Rays

The technology of dental medicine is advancing by the minute. There are now sophisticated techniques for diagnosing and tracking oral cancer, correcting crooked teeth in less than a year, treating periodontitis (advanced gum disease) without surgery, and much more. Yet, when it comes down to diagnosing issues and creating an effective treatment plan, nothing beats a fresh set of X-rays.

Dr. Gordon uses dental X-rays to see the whole picture, in order to keep your teeth healthy, bright, and beautiful. If you are a St. Augustine resident with questions about how X-rays work, read on, and don’t hesitate to call Gordon Dental Associates with any concerns.

What Are X-Rays?

X-rays have been around since 1895, when Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen first discovered that his cathode ray tube could penetrate black paper and cast shadows of solid objects. X-rays are on a shorter wavelength than visible light and pass through soft tissue in the human body, providing a detailed picture of what’s going on inside. Without X-rays, the treatment of everything from cavities to broken bones to cancer would be much more difficult. Beyond medicine and science, X-rays have useful applications across many fields.

Why Do I Need X-Rays?

The first step with every new St. Augustine dental patient is a thorough examination and a set of X-rays, or dental radiographs. Although looking in your mouth and checking for plaque, tartar, and gum irregularities is a great start, X-rays are the key to diagnosing problems and designing the best course of treatment. Here are some of the reasons Dr. Gordon performs dental X-rays:

  • To detect tooth decay, jawbone damage, and injuries to tooth roots
  • To observe the position of teeth and locate any crowding or impacted teeth
  • To make sure children’s permanent teeth are growing properly
  • To check for cysts, tumors, or abscesses
  • To plan and coordinate treatment for severe cavities, root canals, dental implants, extractions, and orthodontics

Are Dental X-Rays Safe?

Dr. Gordon understands why many St. Augustine residents have concerns about radiation. However, dental X-rays use an insignificant amount of radiation in a small and controlled area. According to the American Dental Association, a set of two to four bitewing X-rays (for back teeth) represent a 0.005 millisievert (mSv, a unit of radiation) exposure. The average American is exposed to 3.2 mSv of environmental radiation each year. That means you would have to have about 600 sets of X-rays just to equal the level of natural exposure.

Even so, the team at Gordon Dental Associates cares for our patients’ health with the best practices in minimizing radiation exposure, such as using lead aprons, high-quality technology, quick exposures, and selective imaging techniques. If you would like to see what dental X-rays can reveal about your smile, give us a call today!


300 Plantation Island Drive
St. Augustine, FL 32080
Phone: (904) 460-0999

Sources

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/dental-x-rays

http://www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article/?abc=X&iid=342&aid=1373

The post The Importance of Dental X-Rays appeared first on Gordon Dental.



from Gordon Dental http://www.gordon-dental.com/blog/915/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help! My Child is Terrified of the Dentist

Image
If you’re the parent of a young child, you know their brains are similar to sponges that soak up everything around them—especially in their first five years, which neuroscientists say is when they’ll do the most learning and developing in their entire life. At this formative time, your child may amaze you with what they notice: your facial expressions, the different tones of your voice, and your habits. If your habits include regular dental visits and an excellent oral hygiene routine, they’ll notice and want to emulate you. If you happen to feel anxious about your dental visits, or you groan when you’ve got to floss and brush, they may synchronize and feel your dread. This could lead to dental fears that stick with them for years—potentially a lifetime! Kids Can Be Courageous If you’re feeling guilty right now, go ahead and put that away as it won’t serve you or your little one. Everyone has some room for improvement, and Coastal Pediatric Dentistry® is here to help show you an
Read more

Going for the Gold?

Image
On the left is the older allow, on the right the new one that my lab has chosen to use The cost of a penny weight of pure gold is currently $79.53. The cost of a penny weight of pure palladium is $130.6. It used to be that palladium was added instead of gold to the precious metals often used for pfms, but now laboratories are finding that palladium is no longer affordable. The lab that I am using has just changed the formulation of the metal it's using to one that has more gold than palladium. I really do not mind, but metals with more gold are softer and often easier for a dentist to accidentally polish off delicate margins. It is important when polishing "higher gold" formulations to exert less hand pressure when performing the final polishing of the crown's margins. Other wise there should be no problem with this change. Traditionally labs have chosen alloys with higher gold percentages for optimal esthetics, since alloys with higher concentrations of
Read more

Tongue Ties: What Parents Need to Know

Image
For a long time, people just didn’t seem to know much about tongue ties. In the early years of my practice, few of my patients had ever heard of a tongue tie. When I pointed out that they or their children might be tongue tied, I was often the very first practitioner who’d mentioned it to them. When I told them that a tongue tie might actually be the root cause of their oral myofunctional issues, or even their sleep apnea , I’m sure that some of them thought I was crazy. But in the last few years, things have changed so much! Initially, there was a small increase in the number of patients who were contacting me specifically about tongue ties. Dentists and orthodontists also began reaching out more frequently to discuss the application of myofunctional therapy exercises to tongue tie treatment. But in the last year or so, that little bit of interest has become a surge of awareness. Tongue ties and their effects on health and craniofacial development are finally becoming mainstream.
Read more