FYI Fridays: Digital X-ray Technology

Digital radiography

The computer era has brought us an exciting new technology called digital radiography.

With this technology, we use a computerized equipment and software to capture x-ray images of your mouth and teeth. We do this by exposing a small sensor or plate that feeds the image into a computer.

The advantages of digital radiography

Digital radiography has many advantages over traditional x-rays:

• It’s faster
• It’s safer, with no chemical development and less radiation
• We can view images instantly
• We can enhance images to improve viewing
• Images can be stored electronically and emailed to specialists and insurance companies.

Taking x-rays is faster because the sensor is merely moved from tooth to tooth, and your x-ray can be seen on a computer monitor just moments after exposure. There’s no waiting for chemical development, as with film packets. It’s also faster because the x-rays are available within moments on the computer monitor, with no development step in between.

The lack of chemicals also makes digital x-rays safer for the environment. Digital radiography is safe for you, too. Because the unit is so sensitive, the amount of x-ray radiation is up to 80% less than with conventional x-rays.

Digital x-ray technology enables more efficient diagnosis and treatment because it provides a large, easy-to-see image and it allows us to make adjustments and see details in the x-ray images. The digital x-rays can then become part of your dental record and be easily emailed to specialists and insurance companies.

With digital radiography, we can offer you faster and safer diagnosis and dental treatment.