Digital Dental Radiography

Digital dental radiography has been used routinely at Halifax Vet Centre since 2011.  Digital radiography allows us to take very high quality images quickly and with a lower radiation dose – saving us time and you money! Dental xrays help us identify any issues under the gum line so we avoid missing serious dental disease and can best treat your pets teeth.

Dental Radiographs (X-rays) in Veterinary Patients

Dental radiography is a vital diagnostic tool available to the veterinary dentist. The Xrays allow the internal anatomy of the teeth, roots and the bone that surrounds the roots to be examined. Periodontal disease in pets is common – surveys suggest that 4 out of 5 pets over the age of 3 years have some form of dental disease that requires treating. Wow!

Dental radiographs are made using small radiographic films or digital sensors placed inside the patient’s mouth. They provide superior quality radiographs for examination of individual teeth or sections of the mouth compared to usual standard-sized veterinary radiographs. Patient compliance is essential to get the best quality image and we would like to avoid any Rottweilers crunching through our expensive equipment! This requires that the patient be anesthetised when taking radiographs.

We will make a recommendation whether or not to take radiographs of specific teeth, or all the teeth, based on our assessment of your pets mouth during their physical examination. It is common for a patient which initially appears to have focal dental disease to have additional oral problems – these may only become apparent when examined under anaesthesia or if full-mouth radiographs are made. Full-mouth radiographs also establish a base-line for future comparison.