THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. ... PICTURES TO FOLLOW SOON 18th March 2011
For your convenience and added safety, at Newbury Smilemakers, we use digital dental x-ray imaging. We have two types of x-ray machines and both are digital. Before taking any x-ray pictures we will ask female patients if they might be pregnant. It is best to avoid x-rays in the first 6 months of pregnancy if possible. We also ask if you have had x-ray pictures taken at another dentist within the last 2 years and if so we will search for these before deciding if any more would be needed.
What this means for you.
Convenience: Results appear on our monitor screens within seconds of the x-ray picture being taken. No waiting for old-style films to be developed. No need to come back to discuss the results and no need to be referred to a hospital for the x-ray images.
Safety: Instead of photographic films, digital sensors are used which are much more sensitive and so need less radiation than old-style films and although the dose is quite small and safe, any reduction is welcome. People are concerned about radiation exposure but we must remember that there is a natural background radiation all the time and also cosmic radiation comes from " outer space". So a small dental x-ray is equivalent to a few days worth of background radiation or the radiation that comes through the body of an aircraft flying across the Atlantic.
Greener: Yes this is true. No developer and fixer chemicals to use. Reducing carbon footprint also, as no manufacture and delivery and collection and disposal of the these waste chemicals used in in old-style dental x-ray images. No lead or plastic to dispose of either. Very green in fact.
If you are technically or scientifically minded and you want to know more detail this is a good link.
Our x-ray machines link directly into out patient record system, so your images are stored with your records automatically, ready to be looked at at any time at the click of a button.
Types of x-ray image:
In the mouth: These usually show an individual tooth or a few teeth in considerable detail
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Panoramic: This uses a different, rotating x-ray machine, to show all of the teeth and jaw bones on one picture. It also shows the jaw joints and the sinuses too. It can be programmed to show a smaller area, say around one wisdom tooth or more focussed on the sinuses or jaw joints (TMJ) if these are suspected to be a problem. Being digital we can "draw" on the images to iillustrate to you what is going on. We often use a panormamic image for patients who are new to us especially if they have had a lot of dental treatment in the past to check that all is well underneath, crowns, bridgework, large fillings for example. Usually we would not repeat this for another 3-5 years
Images to follow
Being digital we can also enhance or otherwise play with the image to best see what we are looking for.
So what are the main things we looking for?:
- Tooth decay between teeth or under old fillings
- Bone structure around teeth. Poor bone indicates gum disease needing treatment.
- Signs of a tooth root infection, which is an abscess.
- After injuries to see if the tooth root(s) has been broken.
- To check sinuses for disease.
- To check jaw joints for disease or misalignment.
- To check for less usual problems such as cysts or even rarely some types of bone tumour (cancer).
- To check and have a record of root filling work just completed and usually before and sometimes during root canal fillins
- To check that a tooth is sound before making a crown, veneer, inlay or Bridge
- To check for the position of any teeth that have not yet appeared or have failed to come through.
- As part of planning for orthodontic ( smile alignment) treatment.
- To check for bone height whilst planning for dental implants.
3D scans
Often when planning dental implants, a fully 3-D image is required. Dedicated dental CT scanners are now available. In this case we do refer patients to local colleagues in Newbury who will produce these for us.
Images to follow