Dental X-rays, also known as radiographs, are an essential part of any dental care treatment plan. They can spot trouble early in your mouth, teeth, gums and jaw. This allows you to treat problems before they get serious so you can save money, pain and sometimes even your life!

As your local Gainesville dentist, we use dental x-rays as a diagnostic tool to help our team detect damage and disease that is not visible during a regular dental exam. If you are a new patient, our team will recommend dental x-rays to determine the present status of your oral health and have a baseline to help identify changes that may occur later.

Dental x-ray exams are safe; however, they do require very low levels of radiation exposure. Since the levels are so low, the risk of potentially harmful effects are very small. The American Dental Association (ADA) Mouth Healthy site recommends patients have the added protection of a leaded apron to cover the abdominal area and a leaded collar to protect the thyroid. At Northwest Family Dental, we pride ourselves in providing a safe, stress-free environment to make patients feel as comfortable and protected as possible.

Decay, especially small areas of decay between teeth.

Decay beneath existing fillings.

Bone loss in the jaw.

Changes in the bone or root canal due to infection.

Condition and position of teeth to help prepare for tooth implants, braces, dentures or other dental procedures.

Abscesses (an infection at the root of a tooth or between the gum and a tooth).

Cysts and some types of tumors.

As your local Gainesville dentist, we want to ensure that you are confident and comfortable with dental x-rays. If you have anymore questions, feel free to contact our office today and we will be more than happy to give you the best quality care in Gainesville.