Dental X-Rays

How do X-Rays Help?

Dr. Black uses only digital x-ray technology in his office. Digital dental x-rays or radiographs are very important. They allow the dentist to see things about your oral health that cannot be seen by the naked eye. These items include cysts (sacks of fluid that form on the roots of teeth), cancerous and non-cancerous tumors, invisible decay that occurs between teeth, and the location of teeth that haven't grown all the way in.

By using digital radiography to diagnose these problems, we can help save you money in the long run from surgeries or other treatments that might become necessary if we didn't find the problem. In some cases, where dental x-rays show the location of tumorous growths, x-rays can be responsible for saving your life.

Are Dental X-Rays Safe?

Digital dental x-ray equipment is the very safest. We use only state-of-the-art, low radiation machines. By using digital technology, patients are exposed to much lower levels of radiation (80-90% less compared to traditional radiography.) The amount of radiation exposure your body receives on an airplane flight from Los Angeles to New York exceeds the amount of exposure you will receive from a modern dental x-ray machine. Contrast this minimal exposure with the risk of not finding an illness until it is too late, and you can see why we prescribe regular diagnostic x-rays.

Digital technology is safe not only for our patients, but also for our community because there are no chemicals or lead wrapper waste to dispose of into the environment.