Dental imaging is crucial to help your dentist diagnose and treat various dental problems, including tooth decay, gum disease, and tumors. The traditional method of taking dental x-rays can be harmful, so dental clinics must use the latest technology (digital x-rays) to protect their patients.
Per the American Dental Association (ADA), x-rays can show tooth decay, fillings, gum disease, and types of tumors. These radiographs can also alert your dentist to changes in hard and soft tissues. When treating children, digital x-rays allow the dentist to see how their teeth and jawbones develop. Immediately detecting infection or injury also helps prevent further damage to their mouths.
Besides those, there are other ways digital x-ray services help your dentist a great deal concerning your treatment:
Accessibility
Your dentist’s office can store these files in the cloud. Since they’re digital images, you don’t have to worry about keeping stacks of paperwork in your office.
Likewise, if you need digital x-rays to be stored or shared with you, you can receive a printed copy of the images. These images can also be sent through electronic systems to insurance companies, helping to speed up the process for specific insurance claims.
Better Diagnostics
The access to clear pictures and more information allows your dentist to diagnose dental problems more accurately. The patient’s mouth can be mapped and scanned, imaging processes that reveal things that can’t be easily seen with the bare eye. Digital x-rays can reveal areas of decay, infections in the bone, gum disease, tumors, and other abnormalities that are difficult to find.
Enlargement Capabilities
When examining a traditional x-ray, dentists and patients can only view the image in one actual size. In a digital x-ray, the dentist can enlarge the image to see potential issues.
Higher-Quality Images
Digital sensors capture x-ray images, which are digitally stored on the computer rather than developed like traditional film. Sensors have a high resolution and are not prone to error, meaning that more data is available for the dentist to analyze. Pictures of the teeth can be taken using a panoramic x-ray, but images of the gums, tongue, and other oral structures can also be captured.
The oral cavity will be viewed not just from a radiograph’s perspective but also from an actual photograph view. Your dentist can explain what’s happening underneath, show what’s happening above, and help you understand your concerns much better.
Instant Viewing
Traditional x-ray films required a waiting period, or at the very least a trip to the lab before dentists could see how various areas of the body had been affected by the disease. Now, digital tools provide instant viewing of the imaged spot on a computer screen. Doctors can pull up the photos immediately after the images are captured and give you a better explanation.
Lessened Radiation Exposure
Research has found that digital radiography reduces radiation levels by up to 80 percent compared to traditional x-ray equipment! Reducing the radiation helps minimize the potential side effects and long-term risk of x-ray exposure, such as vomiting, bleeding, hair loss, skin loss, and increased cancer risk.
Time- and Money-Efficiency
Single digital x-ray images are developed and printed faster; it detects problems quicker and leads to more immediate treatment plans. These methods allow patients to avoid more invasive treatments or prolonged symptoms, saving time and money.
Get Digital X-Rays from a Dentist in Chattanooga
Digital radiography doesn’t just help your dentist give the best treatment. It also minimizes waiting periods for insurance claims and reduces the development of long-term dental problems that cost an arm and a leg. So when your dentist requires an x-ray, ask them to make it digital. It makes life easier for everyone involved!
Get digital x-rays from Shallowford Dental during your next appointment! Our chief dentist in Chattanooga provides the best care possible to his patients through the help of his team and modern, state-of-the-art facilities. Book your visit now!