Digital Dental Radiography

Digital dental radiography has been used routinely at Halifax Veterinary Centre since 2011. This technology allows us to take very high-quality images quickly and with a lower radiation dose -saving us time and saving you money. Dental X-rays help us identify problems under the gum line so we can avoid missing serious dental disease and provide the best treatment for your pet’s teeth.

Dental Radiographs (X-rays) in Veterinary Patients

Dental radiography is a vital diagnostic tool in veterinary dentistry. X-rays allow us to examine the internal anatomy of the teeth, their roots, and the bone that surrounds those roots. Periodontal disease is common in pets – surveys suggest that 4 out of 5 pets over the age of three years have some form of dental disease that requires treatment.

Dental radiographs are made using small radiographic films or digital sensors placed inside the patient’s mouth. These provide much higher quality images for examining individual teeth or sections of the mouth than standard veterinary radiographs. Because excellent image quality depends on stillness, general anaesthesia is required – and also helps protect our expensive equipment from any Rottweilers with strong jaws!

We will recommend radiographs for specific teeth – or full-mouth X-rays – based on our assessment of your pet’s mouth during their physical examination. It’s common for pets who appear to have a single problem tooth to have additional issues that only become apparent once we examine them under anaesthetic or take X-rays. Full-mouth radiographs are also useful as a baseline for future comparison.