Digital Radiography

Digital radiography uses a substantially lower dose of radiation than the traditional film it replaced, and the amount involved in a routine dental image is very small. We also follow the principle of keeping exposure as low as reasonably achievable, which means images are taken only when they will genuinely inform your diagnosis or treatment, and protective shielding is used. If you have any concerns about exposure, please raise them with us and we will talk them through before proceeding.

Instead of a film packet, a small electronic sensor captures the image and sends it directly to your file on the computer. The practical differences are considerable: the radiation dose is lower, the image appears in seconds rather than after processing, it can be enlarged and adjusted on screen to reveal detail, and it can be stored and shared without degrading. There are no processing chemicals or film packets involved either, which makes it a cleaner process for the environment.

A visual examination can only show the surfaces we are able to see. Many of the most common problems begin where they cannot be seen, and most of them are painless in their early stages. By the time a tooth becomes uncomfortable, the underlying problem has usually progressed to a point where treatment is more involved. Imaging is what allows us to find and address these issues while they are still small.

Images show decay forming between teeth and beneath existing restorations, changes in the bone that supports the teeth, infection at the tip of a root, cysts, and impacted or developing teeth that have not yet come through. In children they also let us follow how the permanent teeth are forming and whether there is room for them to erupt properly.

There is no single schedule that suits everyone. How often images are needed depends on your age, your dental history, your risk of decay and gum disease, and whether you have any current symptoms. A patient with a stable mouth and a low risk of decay will need images far less often than someone being monitored for an active problem. We will explain the reason each time images are recommended.

Please tell us if you are pregnant or think you may be, at every visit. Routine imaging is generally postponed during pregnancy, though this is a precaution rather than a reflection of significant known risk. If you have a dental problem that needs diagnosing, leaving an infection untreated carries risks of its own, so we will discuss the specific situation with you and take images only where they are genuinely necessary, with appropriate shielding in place.

Yes, and this is one of the practical advantages of working digitally. Images can be sent electronically to a specialist, to your insurance carrier, or to another dental office without the delay of duplicating film and without any loss of quality. If you are moving away or being referred for treatment elsewhere, just let us know and we can transfer your records.

Yes. Images are stored in your patient record, which means we can compare a new image directly against earlier ones. That comparison is often as valuable as the image itself, because it shows whether something has changed, how quickly, and whether a finding we have been monitoring needs treatment now or can safely be watched a while longer.