DIGITAL IMAGING IN DENTISTRY

Digital Imaging is the new method to take X-rays or doing radiography in dentistry. Digital radiography has taken all over the world and helped many dentists in diagnosing any disease in a better way. It has modernized the whole imaging world and has transformed the world of dentistry as well. 

Imaging is the radiation of X Rays that is used to capture the photographic montage of any tooth. Diagnosing caries or any periodontal diseases which are hard to find in the clinical examination can be done easily by seeing in the X-ray image of the tooth. This saves time for both the dentist and the patient, so is very efficient and beneficial in diagnosing disease and forming a treatment plan. 

There were several ways of doing imaging in dentistry such as X-rays which were discovered in 1895. Digital radiography has replaced conventional screen-film radiography since it was introduced in the mid-1980s. Digital imaging uses a sensor of solid-state, and information is presented and stored as an image using a computer. There are many clinical applications of digital imaging in dentistry for eg. in periodontal diagnosis, the high resolution of intraoral radiographs helps in the visualization of the bony tissues, including small details such as periodontal ligament space, lamina dura, etc. It also allows measuring bone loss extent using image analysis tools. Forensic dentistry uses radiology in determining the age of an individual by monitoring the stage of the eruption of teeth as well as for identification of the suspect in case of criminal offense or unknowns death for determining the cause of death, to find faulty charting of teeth, legal matters, body identification, postmortem examination, and for nonaccidental injuries of children. There are several ways of imaging like mainly two intraoral or the one in which imaging is done from inside the mouth and extraoral in which imaging is done from outside the mouth. Both have their own use in our field like for patients whose mouth opening is reduced due to pathology or trauma to the jaws can go for extraoral technique. 

So basically let’s know about the intraoral ways of taking a radiograph which is bitewing method, periapical, occlusal view in which it shows the tooth, its root, and the periapical area very clearly so that the diagnosis can be done on that basis. Any apical inflammation, periodontal problems or fractures, cysts, or unerupted tooth can be viewed daily by the periapical view. Bone loss or interdental caries can be detected in bitewing x-rays which take an equal amount of maxillary and mandibular teeth on x-ray images that are bitten on a plastic holder. 

Extraoral techniques in imaging is another type of method which captures the X-ray image of the mouth from the outside. Panoramic imaging or OPG which is done for the whole mouth in cases of patients whose mouth opening is restricted is an example of this. The OPG machine captures the image by radiating the mouth extraoral, which helps in diagnosing any TMJ problems or related fractures of the jaw or TMJ. Lateral cephalogram is another extraoral method that is helpful in imaging the skull used in Ortho cases for treatment planning. 

Digital radiography requires 90% less dose compared to E-speed film. In digital radiography, the same image can be used for various diagnostic purposes and can be reused as many times as possible for diagnosis of other diseases for eg. marginal bone loss which requires lighter images, and caries detection requiring darker images.

So, guys, we are definitely sure that you would have garnered enough knowledge about imaging in dentistry from this article, and still, if you want more info please feel free to connect with us. We are there to help you anytime. For booking appointments with us contact the given number. 

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