X-Rays

Dental X-rays are essential, preventative, diagnostic tools that provide valuable information not visible during a regular dental exam.  Dentists and dental hygienists use this information to safely and accurately detect hidden dental abnormalities and complete an accurate treatment plan.  Without X-rays, problem areas may go undetected. Detecting and treating dental problems at an early stage can save you time, money, unnecessary discomfort, and your teeth!

Dental X-rays may reveal:

• Decay between the teeth.

• Problems inside a tooth or below the gum line.

• Bone loss, periodontal disease.

• Cancerous and non-cancerous tumors, abscesses or cysts.

• Developmental abnormalities/wisdom teeth.

Staying current with the most useful technologies is just one of the ways that West Allis Dental Care brings you some of the best dental care in West Allis and Milwaukee. For that reason we use Digital X-rays which are the newest type of X-ray.

Digital X-rays have a number of advantages:

• Digital X-rays may be viewed seconds after being taken.

• Digital X-rays are much clearer and provide color contrast, which makes them easier to read than a film-processed image

• X-ray images may be manipulated by rotating, magnifying or sectioning the image.

• Digital X-ray equipment exposes the patient to as much as 80% less radiation than older X-ray technologies.

• Use of digital X-rays contributes to our efforts toward a paperless office, which is environmentally responsible.

If you have never seen a digital X-ray, it really is a marvelous advancement in dentistry.  

How often should dental X-rays be taken?

The need for dental X-rays depends on each patient’s individual dental health needs.  Your dentist and dental hygienist will recommend necessary X-rays based on the review of your medical and dental history, dental exam, signs and symptoms, age considerations, and risk for disease.

A full mouth series of dental X-rays is recommended for new patients.  A full series is usually good for 3 to 5 years.  Bite-wing X-rays (X-rays of top and bottom teeth biting together) are taken at check-up visits and are recommended once or twice a year to detect new dental problems.