Digital X-Rays

Dentistry & Orthodontic Care in Silver Spring, MD

At City Place Dental, our mission is to help each of our patients achieve a beautiful, healthy smile that lasts a lifetime. We're proud to provide premium dental and orthodontic treatments to patients throughout the Silver Spring, MD area, and we put our commitment to the health and oral success of our patients above everything else. We strive to improve the patient experience in everything we do – and our use of digital x-rays is another example of that commitment.

What Are Digital X-Rays?

Digital radiography (digital x-rays) is a next-generation technology that replaces traditional x-rays. We use these x-rays as imaging tools, allowing us to see the teeth, tooth roots, and tooth alignment in the gums in a single image. This allows us to get an overarching look at your mouth and achieve a better understanding of your dental & orthodontic situation.

With digital x-rays, we use a digital sensor instead of traditional x-ray film to take the images. This not only allows us to create a single composite image of your entire mouth instead of a series of images of different sections, but it also allows us to drastically reduce the amount of radiation used in the imaging process, providing a safer procedure than traditional x-rays. The machines we use in our office use about 80-90% less radiation than the already low exposure of traditional dental x-rays.

The Importance of Dental Radiography

Dental x-rays are one of the most important tools we have for both dental and orthodontic treatment – they give us a crucial view into the gums, letting us fully understand the positioning and condition of the teeth. Your Silver Spring dentist or orthodontist will use these images to diagnose any dental and orthodontic conditions, formulate a treatment plan, and track your progress throughout your treatment.

Dental x-rays help us track all of the following issues:

• Cysts or abscesses in the gums

• Cavities

• Bone loss

• Any cancerous or noncancerous tumors or masses

• Dental development & any abnormalities

• Dental problems that can't be seen by the naked eye

• The positioning and health of tooth roots

• Any problems occurring below the gum line

How Safe Are Dental X-Rays

In short, dental x-rays are completely safe. We're all exposed to various amounts of radiation in ourenvironment – even bricks in a building are radioactive to some degree! Traditional dental x-rays already use a very low and completely safe dosage or radiation, and digital x-rays further minimize exposure. The truth is, you expose yourself to far more radiation on a plane ride than you do with dental x-rays!

Even though dental x-rays are completely safe, we'll still take precautions to protect you from exposure. You'll wear a lead apron during the procedure, shielding your body and important vital organs from exposure to the rays. These precautions make this already safe procedure even more harmless.

Schedule an Appointment with Your Silver Spring, MD, Dentist & Orthodontist

Digital dental x-rays are an important part of your orthodontic and dental treatment process, and if you'd like to see them in action, we would love to have you come by the office! Feel free to reach out to us at our contact page or use our easy online form to schedule your next appointment for a checkup, dental cleaning, or orthodontic consultation. We look forward to hearing from you, and we're excited to help you achieve the smile of your dreams and make it last for a lifetime.