What Are Periapical X-Rays? Article

	1888 Articles Home \| Health Articles	Health RSS
What Are Periapical X-Rays?

Nowadays, a variety of types of x-rays can be used in the dentistry. Sometimes a plain old dental x-ray is not enough. Dr. Bart Kreiner runs his own dental office, Dr. Kreiner Family Dentistry, in Bel Air, Maryland. He talks here about periapical x-rays, which are used to find problems in the jaw.

Author: Figowang

Article Tools:

Periapical x-rays show the entire tooth on the picture. It gives the dentist a better overall picture on what is actually happening inside the mouth. The use of periapical x-rays makes dentists better detect the health of the bone around the tooth, and make sure that the tooth has not decayed.

There is great difference between periapical and check-up x-rays (also called bite wing x-rays). With the latter, you can only see the top half of the tooth. But with the former, you can see the entire tooth including the root tip, and all the supporting structures around the tooth.

The new technology today when it comes to x-rays is the computerized x-ray. Traditional x-rays do with films, but the digital ones do with computer sensors. Periapical x-rays can be done with an x-ray film or a computer sensor.

At my office, we only use digital radiography, which greatly reduces the amount of radiation a patient may receive, to detect and treat various disorders, such as cavities, infections, misalignment and decay, in their early stages. With computer sensors, we take three types of x-rays, which are panoramic X-rays, periapical x-rays and bite wing x-rays. These types all describe a technique of looking at the tooth and the bone. The difference is whether you are looking at a computer screen or you are reading an x-ray film.

I believe that it has more advantages to look at a computer screen than to read a film. You can improve your ability to diagnose dental problems; you can enlarge the picture and see more details; and you can use contrast programs to make certain things stand out. It’s faster and also much greener because there are no x-ray chemicals, no developer or fixer or wash water to be disposed of.

It takes you several minutes to process an x-ray film, but only two seconds to process an image from a computerized or digital sensor. So you can see there are real benefits with the amount of time involved, not mentioning anything else.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

About Author

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider.

Article Source: http://www.1888articles.com/author-figowang-28733.html