Smile for the Digital X-Ray Sensor!

Dental X-rays are an important part of your regular dental visits. Yes, we know this may be a boring topic. Dental X-rays are necessary to help diagnose problems not visible to the naked eye. At Smile Sarasota, we use  digital a X-ray system and have for many years. What are the benefits for you? There are many benefits to using digital radiography over traditional film X-rays:

• Shorter Dental Appointments
  Digital radiography can also shorten your dental appointment! With traditional dental X-rays, you’ll have to wait while your dentist develops the film. With digital radiography, the sensor develops the picture almost instantly and projects it onto a computer screen right before your eyes.
• Higher Quality Images
  The standard size of traditional X-rays can make viewing difficult, but digital radiography has done away with the “one size fits all” mentality. Once on the screen, digital X-rays can be enlarged or magnified for a better visual of the tooth’s structure. Brightness, contrast and color can also be adjusted, allowing us to see small cavities easier. If you need a hard copy of your X-ray, digital images can also be printed out.
• Transferring Dental Records
  Digital images can be encrypted and e-mailed to a dental specialist for immediate review. Digital X-rays are taking away the expense and time needed to copy files and mail them to another dentist, making it easier to transfer dental records or get a second opinion. As more offices are turning to electronic patient charts, computers may eliminate the need to mail dental records altogether.
• Environmentally Friendly
  Digital dental X-rays are better for the environment! With digital radiography, no chemicals are used to develop film. There’s also no wasted space of a darkroom and no need to store film, which can pile up in a dentist’s files.
• The Complete Picture
  X-rays can be very difficult to the untrained eye to read, but with the newest technology available, we can now “super-size” the images so that they are much easier to see. We have invested with the best digital x-ray imaging company in the world.
• Less Radiation
  The equipment used in digital radiography exposes dental patients to much less radiation. In fact, digital X-rays use up to 90 percent less radiation than film X-rays. While conventional dental X-rays are relatively safe, digital radiography is an excellent option for those who take X-rays on a regular basis or for those who are concerned about radiation.
• Are dental x-rays safe?
  Dental x-ray examinations require very low levels of radiation exposure, which makes the risk of potentially harmful effects extremely small. Digital x-rays are also safer because the exposure is much lower (almost half) than film based x-rays. The digital sensors are so sensitive they require less radiation to generate an image. We cannot tell you how often we are asked about the radiation exposure when dental x-rays are taken, so we did a little research into exactly how much radiation our bodies are exposed to. The whole-body radiation exposure associated with four bitewing ‘checkup’ X-rays is equivalent to a seven-hour flight. These estimates are based on traditional film-based x-rays; many digital x-ray systems may require even less radiation.

So…SMILE for the digital X-ray sensor!