Traditionally, dentist uses the plastic film to record dental xray images. Typically, the dental assistant would first place the plastic film insde patient’s mouth and position the film near the teeth which the dentist is interested at. Then the dental assistant would move the xray tube (typically is attached to a swinging arm) to near the patient’s cheek. By the press of a button, the xray is generated inside the xray tube and the xray will emitted at the angle toward the xray film inside patient’s mouth. As the xray hits the xray film, the film will get exposed and the image will be formed. The xray film is to be taken to a dark room and it gets processed as if it were negatives as in photography.
- xray tube emitting xray
Now with the development of digital technologies, dentist can use the digital sensor to record the xray images. No more plastic film is used. This digital sensor is like a small rectangular plate and it can be inserted into patient’s mouth. The digital sensor is several times more sensitive than the plastic film. So the amount of xray needed to create the image of the tooth is much less. Since it is digital, the information is immediately transmitted to computer for storage. No chemicals needed to process the xray films.
For the patients, the benefit of this digital dental xray technology is tremendous, It dramatically cuts down the amount of xray exposure by up to 90%. Because it is digital, I can enlarge the xray images and focus on the problem area more efficiently. Often times, I would review the digital dental xray images with my patients and show them the location of the problems, (like cavities, infections, etc) on the computer monitor. It helps the patients understand their dental treatments.
For the environment, it creates less consumable wastes. No more plastic films go into our landfills. No dangerous chemicals used to process the films. And it cuts down on xray exposure for the patients and the dental staff.
Written by Daniel Tee, DDS, MS
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Practicing Dentist Serving Tempe, Chandler, Phoenix, Mesa, and Gilbert Arizona
