Radiographs give dentists an invaluable look inside a patient's anatomy. They are essential for diagnostics, screening, and developmental monitoring. At Pediatric Dental Care, we're pleased to treat our patients using some of the most advanced digital radiography equipment available.

What Are Radiographs?

Also called X-rays, radiographs are images of internal anatomical structures that are produced using short exposures of X-ray radiation (rather than radiation within the visible spectrum, like a camera that takes regular photographs). Traditionally, radiographs were made using a film-based radiography camera. Today, modern medicine benefits from the use of digital radiography which offers many benefits over traditional X-ray imaging.

Why Digital Radiographs Are Better

Less Radiation Exposure

Digital X-rays are better because they use only a small fraction of the radiation needed to produce traditional film-based X-rays. For example, our digital radiograph equipment uses only 25% of the amount of radiation typically required for taking traditional radiographs. This significantly reduces our patients' radiation exposure while still allowing our dentists to use this invaluable diagnostic tool.

Shorter Exposure Time

In addition to reducing radiation, the shorter exposure time required for digital X-rays means that children don't need to sit still as long as they would during a traditional X-ray. We can capture, crisp and clear X-ray images in a small fraction of the time.

Immediate Viewing for Same-Day Diagnosis

With digital radiographs, there is no need to wait for film to be developed. Instead, digital X-ray images are immediately available to view on our in-office computer monitors. As a result, our dentist can talk with you about your child's radiographs, provide a diagnosis, and offer any applicable treatment recommendations all during a single appointment.

High-Resolution, Digital Images

Digital radiographs are superior to traditional X-rays in several additional ways. The high-resolution digital images can be easily manipulated (zoomed in or out), saved, and shared so that you and any outside specialists can easily keep track of your child's development and treatment progress.

How Our Practice Uses Radiographs: Why Your Child Might Need Dental X-Rays

X-rays are used in two basic ways:

1. To screen children for early signs of disease or developmental issues
2. To diagnose and evaluate oral health issues

We use digital radiographs to detect, diagnose, and evaluate:

• Tooth decay and cavities that are not yet visible to the naked eye
• Oral cysts, growths, and tumors
• Infections
• Impacted teeth
• Developing permanent teeth
• Unerupted teeth
• Extra or missing teeth

Accurate diagnostic tools are essential to accurately diagnosing and successfully treating our patients. Digital radiographs make it possible for us to provide precise diagnostics and effectively evaluate your child's oral health to recommend the best possible treatments available.

The Process of Getting Digital Dental X-Rays

Getting digital dental X-rays is a quick and painless process for children. While digital radiography produces very minimal amounts of scattered radiation, we always begin by blanketing your child (and anyone else inside the treatment room) with a lead-lined apron. This protects the body from unnecessary radiation exposure.

We use soft, small, child-sized bitewing X-rays and show your child how to hold and bite down on them during the X-ray exposure. This enables us to capture a clear, high-resolution image. We repeat the process of holding the bitewing and snapping an image, moving the X-ray bitewing around the mouth as needed until all necessary images have been captured.

Comprehensive Pediatric Dentistry and Diagnostics in Crown Point and Dyer, IN

At Pediatric Dental Care, we strive to treat our patients using the most advanced tools and techniques in dentistry to provide the highest standards of safety and treatment outcomes. To learn more about how we use digital radiography in our practice or to request an appointment for your child, we welcome you to either of our convenient locations today.