One common question that people have when visiting the dentist is “Do I really need x-rays?”
Yes! Dental x-rays help us diagnose problems that the dentist cannot see with the naked eye. The easiest way to think of it is like this:
X-rays help us diagnose a cavity that is THIS big.
We can see a cavity with our magnifying eyewear that is is THIS big.
It starts to hurt when a cavity is THIS big.
Catching the cavity while it is small has two benefits:
- The fix is much more conservative. A smaller cavity means less tooth structure needs to be cleaned out in order to place a filling. The larger a cavity becomes, the more tooth structure is lost.
- The fix is quicker and more cost effective. A filling that gets too big goes into the nerve of the tooth and ends up needing a root canal and crown, which takes more appointments and costs more.
X-rays also help diagnose other problems, such as gum disease, impacted teeth, and cysts.
Concerns about dental x-rays also revolve around how much radiation you will be exposed to. Click here to read more about the amount of exposure experienced with dental radiation.
In our Monroe, CT dental office we offer digital dental x-rays.