Digital X-rays
Radiographs or x-rays allow us to see inside your teeth and jawbone, and look under fillings and gum tissue. Dentists rely upon x-rays for the early detection and early treatment of problems, in the same way a general doctor prescribes a routine blood test or takes a patient’s blood pressure to complete a comprehensive medical assessment.
Traditional x-rays use a conventional film that relies on developing an x-ray image using strong chemicals. This is an inefficient process, taking at least five minutes to develop an image, and has environmental and costly issues relating to the safe storage and disposal of these strong and hazardous chemicals. If not handled properly, the film images may not be diagnostic and also degrade with time.
Digital x-rays on the other hand, do not require any chemicals to develop the images, which are of perfect archival quality. The digital x-rays that we currently use have digital sensors similar to those sensors found inside advanced digital video cameras. The image appears instantaneously on a computer screen, ready for immediate diagnosis – a wonderful benefit if you need urgent treatment for pain!
Digital x-ray images can also be enlarged, colourized, and even electronically measured on the computer screen to assist us in diagnosis and complete your understanding of the problem at hand. These images can also be emailed to Dental Specialists, if we refer you for urgent treatment.
Digital x-rays have been around since the 1990’s, but has become more viable in recent years with the introduction of faster computers with storage capacities that are larger, cheaper and extremely reliable.
Although dental x-rays emit very low and safe radiation dosages, the use of digital x-ray sensors further improves your safety by requiring one-tenth of the radiation compared to the conventional x-ray film.