X-rays are one of our most effective diagnostic tools. They help us to see what is going on beneath the surface of your teeth and underneath your gums. This allows us to identify small problems, which often have no symptoms at all, so we can treat them before they develop into big, painful problems.
We understand that many of our patients might be concerned about the amount of radiation that they might be exposed to because of dental x-rays. Rest assured that even traditional film dental x-rays expose you to a very small amount of radiation. At our office, we take your safety a step further and rely on digital x-rays, which expose you to up to 90% less radiation than even traditional film x-rays!
We also do our best to only take x-rays when necessary. This will depend a great deal on your individual needs. If you are prone to cavities or other problems – or we are tracking an ongoing concern like bone loss, we will likely recommend more frequent x-rays. If you are overall healthy, however, with few dental concerns, we can take x-rays less frequently. We will still recommend x-rays on a schedule, however, because they are the best way to catch problems early so they can be treated with simple, conservative treatments.