X-rays, also known as radiographs, are an essential part of any dental care treatment plan. They are diagnostic, but they can also be preventative, by helping a dentist diagnose potential oral care issues in a patient’s mouth before they become a major problem. An x-ray is a type of energy that passes through soft tissues and is absorbed by dense tissue. Teeth and bone are very dense, so they absorb X-rays, while X-rays pass more easily through gums and cheeks.
X-rays are divided into two main categories, intraoral and extraoral. Intraoral is an X-ray that is taken inside the mouth. An extraoral X-ray is taken outside of the mouth.
Intraoral X-rays are the most common type of radiograph taken in dentistry. They give a high level of detail of the tooth, bone and supporting tissues of the mouth. These X-rays allow dentists to:

-Find cavities
-Look at the tooth roots
-Check the health of the bony area around the tooth
-Determine if periodontal disease is an oral care issue
-See the status of developing teeth
-Otherwise, monitor good tooth health through prevention

The dental x-rays that are used the most in our office are:

Orthopantomogram

We use the orthopantomogram to visualize both jaws with all the teeth in them as well as the patients bone, surrounding tissue, the position of the maxillary sinus, mandibular nerve canal and the temporomandibular joints. Before starting any type of dental treatment the patient is required to do an orthopantomogram x-ray so that the dentist can have the required information about the patients oral health. It is recommended that patients make orthopantomograms once in every year or two.

Retroalveolar X-rays

These so called “small” x-rays are the most common type of x-rays done in the dental office. The dentists use them in diagnostic purposes as well as during or post treatment.

Cephalogram

This is a type of extraoral x-ray image, which is very common in our office and used for diagnostic purposes in orthodontics. With this x-ray orthodontists measure the relationship between the both jaws as well as the relation between the jaws and the cranial base of the patient.