Picture this: you go in for your very first dental visit and sit down in the dental chair. The dental assistant or hygienist explains that she needs to grab a few radiographs before she stars. What do you think to yourself? Do you think about all useful information they can get from the x-rays or do you think about the bad reputation radiographs have and think “I’m going to glow in the dark after all this?” (Yes, we actually get that a lot for some reason.)
What many people do not understand is how beneficial radiographs are for us and how little radiation you actually get from them. There are many things you cannot see looking clinically in the mouth that you can see on a radiograph. Dental anomalies are unusual conditions that can be spotted with the help of our radiographs. They help us give you the best dental treatment based on your uniqueness. Let’s face it, everybody is unique in their own way and your teeth are no exception.
Did you know that you could have holes in the roots of your teeth? Did you know you could have more teeth than what is considered “normal?” Did you know teeth can grow sideways and underneath your gums? Did you know not everybody will have every permanent tooth that people are expected to have? You may or may not know these things are possible, but they are. We could have a pretty good idea and make pretty good speculations, but what we do not know for sure is what is really going on below the gum and in the jaw bones without the use of our many different forms of dental radiographs.
“Why x-rays? To see is to know…not to see is to guess…and we won’t guess about your health.”