Everything You Need to Know about Dental X-Rays

You’re sitting in your dentist’s chair, wearing a heavy lead vest while a giant machine takes a photo of your teeth. Suddenly you find yourself wondering: what’s the deal with dental X-rays?

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. At Tauranga’s Duncan Dental, we typically only take dental X-rays once a year, but we know it can be a bit unsettling for some of our patients, so we wanted to explain what dental X-rays are, the different types we use, and why they matter.

What are dental X-rays?

Also called radiographs, dental X-rays are images taken of your mouth, jaw, and teeth. For dentists, a visual check of your teeth and gums is important, but radiographs give us a deeper understanding of your oral health.

They will identify problems like cavities, tooth decay and impacted teeth, and give dentists a chance to correct or treat problems in the early stages. They’re also useful for monitoring a problem or assessing a particular treatment. And for children, whose mouths and teeth are growing quickly, they can help your dentist determine if treatment – such as pulling out a baby tooth – is necessary.

Different types of X-rays

Bite-wing X-rays

This is the annual routine X-ray, and it lets your dentist check the space between your teeth. Here, we are on the look-out for decay, and we are assessing the quality and health of any dental restorations (such as crowns, bridges, or implants) you’ve had.

Periapical radiographs

This X-ray lets us assess the health of your bones and nerves surrounding your teeth.

OPG or panoramic radiographs

As you might guess with a name like panoramic, this X-ray gives your dentist the full picture of your mouth including your upper and lower jaws, your jaw joint, the sinus space, and the roots of all your teeth.

Are there any risks?

Dental X-rays use very low levels of radiation in order to capture images from inside your mouth. The levels are so low that they are considered safe in both adults and children. Even still, your dentist will get you to wear a lead vest to provide an extra layer of protection, and if you have a thyroid condition, you might be advised to wear a thyroid collar, too.

The one exception is pregnancy, as even low levels of radiation are not deemed safe for a growing fetus and so your dentist will forgo the X-ray if you’re pregnant.

Book an appointment with your dentist today

X-rays are a quick and painless way for your dentist to keep a close eye on your oral health. If it’s time for an appointment, give one of our Tauranga dental clinics a call today.

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