Benefits of Dental X-rays

Taking oral x-rays helps our Yuba City dentist see inside your mouth, jaws and teeth to diagnose problems, prevent disease and assess bone health. Annually our dental professionals plan to take x-rays of our patients as part of a regular exam and cleaning. This helps our Yuba City family dentist provide the best dental care possible for our patients.

Types of Oral X-Ray Images

There are different types of x-rays that assist our dentist to provide excellent dental care at our Yuba City dental clinic, conveniently located for our Marysville patients too!

The bite-wing x-ray is useful for showing the condition of the molars.

Bite-Wing

This type of x-ray shows the dentist how the lower and upper back teeth touch one another and helps the dentist determine if there are cavities or decay.

Occlusal

This x-ray shows the floor of the mouth and how the patient’s bite appears on the upper or lower jaw. It also reveals children’s tooth development to show the baby and permanent teeth that have not come in yet.

Panoramic

An x-ray that shows a view of the teeth, jaw, nasal cavity, sinuses and jaw joints, all in one image, is panoramic. This kind of x-ray is common before orthodontic treatment or certain types of oral surgery, such as dental implants. (The featured image for this article shows a panoramic x-ray.)

Highlighted on this image are a periapical x-ray above and an occlusal below.

Periapical

The periapical x-ray produces a view of one tooth in its entirety, from the top of the crown to below the root in the jaw bone.

The dental x-ray is an essential tool that the Yuba City Dental Group uses to provide the best dental care possible for our patients, both young and not so young. Of course, safety is important, so our dental care providers take measures to protect our patients and themselves while performing x-rays. When taking x-rays, the dental hygienist covers the patient with a heavy lead apron that absorbs or blocks any excess radiation. X-rays are used only for images of small, targeted areas. Dental x-rays are painless and require mere seconds of exposure. If you are pregnant, our dental clinic can skip the x-rays until a later visit.

Keep your appointments with the Yuba City Dental Group to maintain the best oral health possible and prevent dental problems from taking you by surprise. With the help of x-rays, we keep our patients smiling!