Dental X-Rays

At our office, Dr. Kapust and the team use new digital dental x-ray technology to detect tooth decay that cannot be seen by visual examination alone. Dental x-rays are recommended only when necessary to evaluate and monitor your child’s oral health.

What is a dental x-ray?

X-rays are invisible beams of energy that make black and white pictures of your child’s teeth and bones. When the x-ray picture is taken your child has to sit still for a couple of seconds. We use a digital sensor directly connected to a computer and you can see the x-ray picture instantly.

What are the different types of dental X rays?

Bitewings – the x-ray film or plastic sensor has a little tab in the middle that the patient bites on with their back teeth. These x-ray pictures help look for cavities between the back teeth.

Periapicals – these x-ray pictures are used to look at the roots of front or back teeth. Each periapical x-ray picture can only look at two or three teeth.

Panoramic x-ray – a machine that rotates around the outside of the head takes this picture. This is a detailed picture showing the jaw bone and all of the developing teeth.

How much radiation is used in dental X rays?

We use only enough radiation to see what Dr. Andy needs to care for your child. We all are exposed to small amounts of radiation daily from the sun, soil, rocks, buildings, air and water. This type of natural radiation is called background radiation. The radiation used in x rays has been compared to the amount of background radiation a person gets daily to help you understand how much radiation your child is getting during their x-ray exam.

We make sure your child is exposed to the lowest amount of radiation possible during an x-ray picture.

The amount of radiation from one dental x-ray picture is very small. Still, it is important to us keep the radiation amount as low as possible.

• We take precautions to make sure your child is exposed to the lowest amount of radiation possible during an x-ray picture. Here are the precautions we use to minimize radiation from x-rays.
• We utilize digital x-ray technology resulting in minimal exposure times.
• We take x-ray pictures based specifically on your child’s needs, not merely as a routine test .
• We provide thyroid collars to protect the thyroid gland from radiation, (it is particularly sensitive to radiation), and protective shields as needed for other parts of the body.
• We consider child-size and exposure times.