Oral Health and the Benefit of Dental X-rays
When it comes to oral health, dental x-rays are an essential part of any oral exam. With an x-ray, your Houston dentist gains a detailed view of your teeth, jawbone, and the hard tissues that we can’t see when we take a peek into your mouth. Moreover, they help us detect problems early, which makes successful treatment much easier.
Below is everything you need to know about how dental x-rays benefit your oral health! Remember that you can always contact our Houston dental office with questions and concerns.
What Are the Types of Dental X-rays?
When you come in for your routine dental exam with your Houston dentist, you can expect an x-ray to be part of your preventative routine. Additionally, it’s important that you let us know any problems or symptoms you experience. That helps us use the x-ray to diagnose your condition.
In order to gain a comprehensive view of your teeth, your Houston dentist and their team utilizes multiple types of X-rays. They allows us to view your teeth from different angles to ensure we see any potential problems.
• Bitewing x-rays are designed to provide a detailed view of one part of your mouth. We use them on your upper and lower teeth, and they help us identify decay between the teeth. Moreover, they help us see how well a dental bridge or crown fits.
• Periapical x-rays help us detect changes in both the bone and tooth root.
• Panoramic x-rays are one large image of your entire mouth, jaw, and sinuses. These help us diagnose oral health issues when you aren’t quite sure what you’re experiencing.
• Cephalometric x-rays are used by our orthodontists when we put together a treatment plan for braces, Invisalign, or other orthodontic treatments.
• Occlusal x-rays are typically used for children to help ensure that their teeth are growing and developing properly.
The Benefits of Dental X-rays for Your Oral Health
While we understand that dental x-rays often seem redundant and feel uncomfortable for patients, your Houston dentist relies on these to maintain your oral health. They help us catch infections, cavities, and other issues early on in order to prevent severe conditions from forming.
Here some of the other benefits that x-rays hold for your oral health.
Diagnosis for Oral Health Issues
Dental x-rays are essential for healthy teeth because they allow your Houston dentist to gain a better view of your teeth. We use them to rule out tooth decay or dental disease. They also allow us to take a closer look at missing teeth or impacted teeth. Even patients who think their teeth are fine sometimes discover easily missed conditions when we review an x-ray image.
They’re Perfectly Safe
Getting a dental x-ray is perfectly safe. While some patients are concerned about radiation, modern dental x-rays use very low levels that don’t pose much risk. At our Houston dental office, we also take other measures to minimize your exposure.
For instance, the American Dental Association recommends that patients wear a safety apron over their bodies throughout the process. If you are breastfeeding or pregnant, please let us know beforehand!
Catching Oral Cancer Early
Diagnosing oral cancer is another potential use for dental x-rays. According to the American Cancer Society, catching oral cancer early increases the odds of surviving and fully recovering from it. With a dental x-ray, we can catch irregularities in your oral health that may be an early sign.
Detecting Bone Loss
In addition to the health of your teeth, dental x-rays allow your Houston dentist to get a look at your jaw bone. Bone loss has the potential to occur for a few different reasons. These range from missing teeth and advanced periodontal disease to severe misalignments in your teeth that affect your bite. When we use an x-ray, we can see whether you suffer from bone loss, which helps us map out a treatment to improve your oral health.
Saving You Time and Money
As we mentioned earlier, dental x-rays help us catch oral health issues early. This helps to save you time and money. When it comes to your oral health, problems escalate quite quickly when left untreated. This makes the treatments much more complex. When dental issues go untreated for a long time, they often require complicated, expensive procedures that are often avoidable when caught early.
How Often Do I Need Dental X-rays for My Oral Health?
Everyone’s oral health is different. That’s why it’s important to visit your Houston dentist regularly. When you are seeing a dentist for the first time, they often recommend several x-rays in order to do a comprehensive oral health assessment. This also helps them establish a baseline for future oral exams and treatments. Typically, you should expect x-rays during your 6-month checkups.
Dental x-rays help us keep your mouth healthy in several ways. However, they only help us detect issues, not prevent them. For optimum oral health, maintain a good oral care routine at home – brushing twice a day, flossing once a day, and seeing your Houston dentist at FMS Dental twice a year!
When you have good oral hygiene habits, we can see them in your dental x-rays. Ready for a detailed view of your teeth? Schedule an appointment with our Houston dental office!
