Why are dental x-rays important?
Why dental x-rays for your dog and cat are so important!
The majority of all dogs and cats have or have had dental and/or oral problems. By taking X-rays of the teeth, we get information that is necessary to give the patients excellent treatment.
Swelling around the eye
We really learned that it is important to have an X-ray of teeth when Tyra came in because of a swelling around the eye. The swelling disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, but appeared around the other eye.
She was examined and apparently had fine teeth. Only when we took x-rays of her teeth did we see her root problems. The roots of the fangs on each side were crumbled and painful. See picture before and after the extraction.
The visible part of a tooth, the crown, makes up less than 50 percent of the entire tooth. This means that when we see and examine a tooth, we only have half the information we need to be able to say whether it is healthy or not. With X-rays of all the teeth and their roots, we can see what is hidden under the gums, and we can make a holistic assessment. A tooth that looks healthy on the "surface" can therefore be sick and painful.
For X-rays of the teeth or jaw, relatively small radiation fields are used. The radiation is aimed at the teeth and jaw, and most of it is absorbed in the jaw. This radiation dose is low, and scattered radiation down to the stomach area is negligible. Therefore, for example, pregnant women can safely take all types of X-rays at a dentist.
Some of the problems we can detect with X-rays:
- Root fractures
- Tooth fractures
- Root abscesses
- Tooth resorptions
- Bone tissue changes
Tooth roots
When we discover a tooth that is sick, X-rays are critical for treatment and further follow-up. For example, it is important to see what the roots look like in order to be able to extract them in the best possible way. A follow-up X-ray is necessary to be able to say something about the progress of the treatment. The X-ray machine is our and the patient's best friend during dental examinations and treatments!
