We are used to make a lot of jokes about X-rays, without taking into consideration the fact that they are very important for us in a lot of medical areas. In the dental area, the X-ray process is also called dental radiography, and this process is really useful due to the fact that it allows the doctor to see inside the dental bone, through the gums and at the roots of the teeth.
Why is a dental radiography so important when having a dental procedure? For better understanding of the process, we can take the following example. Imagine that you are inside a building, a large one, without windows or doors, and you have to cut it from the outside.
Inside the building, there are a lot of cables, gas machines, and electrical points, which you must not cut (or you and the other people around you will be affected by fires, explosions, and any alike). How will you cut it? This is the exact situation for a doctor when he needs to make a surgery without seeing how the substrate looks.
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A dental radiography can show the dentist how the root of a tooth is looking. A lot of people come to the doctor and say that they want a tooth removed. The doctor needs a radiography, so that he can examine if the roots are good and healthy, so that the tooth can be saved.
In most cases, the roots are actually looking very good, and the dentist decides to treat instead of removing. Some patients may have a different opinion (insisting in the tooths removal), but this is one of the reasons why we are not dentists. We don’t know better than dentists how to read a dental radiography. If you want to convince yourself about that, you may learn more about dental x-rays by asking a dentist or by looking at websites that give such information, such as www.infodentist.com.
The dental radiography may show different “views” of a tooth. The tooth can be visible from one side, but “bite-views” are also available. In the first variation, the dentist can learn about the type and position of the root and how did it grow.
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In the dentist dictionary, this is called periapical view. The other type of view is made in order to have a look at the crowns of the teeth, and to determine the height of the alveolar bone.
Other views are available ; for example, the panoramic view. It means that every tooth is visible on film, as well as the face bone, their structure and how are they arranged. This is a very important dental radiography and it is mainly indicated when the dentist requires a general view about the clinical situation.
Generally, x-rays are harmless and they don’ t cost a lot of money. They offer a complete image about all there is inside a patient’s mouth, starting from a simple root and all the way to the maxillary bone and infection marks. It may not be very pleasant for you to stay with a “tissue” in your mouth for a few seconds, but this think can bring the salvation to your tooth or teeth!
