How Often Are Dental X-rays Needed?

Your dentist in Gilbert, AZ, will occasionally want to take x-rays during your dental visits. Sometimes, you may wonder if dental x-rays are absolutely necessary. After all, they add to the length of time your dental visit takes. Here is some insight into why your dentist takes dental X-rays and how often they are needed.

What are Dental X-rays Used For?

During your dental exam, your dentist performs a visual inspection of your teeth, gums, and oral soft tissue. However, this visual inspection can only go so far in detecting oral health conditions like cavities and disease. Dental X-rays are an important diagnostic tool that enables your dentist to see beyond what is obvious to what conditions might be developing. or to detect oral health conditions that exist where the eye cannot see, such as the jaw bone.

What Dental X-rays Can Detect

Depending upon what kind of dental X-rays your dentist offers, they can detect:

• decay occurring below tooth fillings
• bone loss in the jawbone
• infection in the gums and other soft tissue
• impacted teeth
• position of teeth that have not yet erupted
• abscessed teeth
• cysts, tumors and similar growths
• cavities
• and more

Dental x-rays are also used to determine your candidacy for sera dental procedures, such as dental implants, dentures and orthodontic braces.

Finally, they are also used in root canal therapy and in monitoring the progress of bone grafting treatments.

How Often Are Dental X-rays Needed?

Dental x-rays are needed whenever you visit your dentist at six-month intervals. They are also necessary when the dentist needs to check the progress of certain treatments mentioned above or when there is an oral health concern where a visual inspection is not sufficient.

If you need dental X-rays in Gilbert, AZ, you can be sure that your dentist will take the utmost precautions and never do X-rays when they aren’t necessary. To book your next dental appointment, please contact us today.