The X-ray as an aid in diagnosis

Dental X-rays are images of your teeth that your dentist uses to evaluate your oral health. These X-rays
are used with low levels of radiation to capture images of the interior of your teeth and gums. This can
help your dentist to identify problems, like cavities, tooth decay, and impacted teeth.In the film we look
for the results of infection.Thus it may happen that tooth recently infected or one long the habitat of
organisms of low virulence may present a radiographic record in no way differing from the normal.In the
entire absence of infection there may be a rarefying process in the adjacent bone sufficient to cause a
most decided diolucent area.This latter picture is caused by overstimulation,as in traumatic occlusion or
orthodontic procedure,and may also be observed about the forming roots of adolescence.When any or
all of these signs are recorded in the radiograph of a tooth which the clinical examination has shown to
be non-vital,we may safety conclude that the root is infected and that we are dealing with periapical
disease..At this point we are enabled to make a differential diagnosis and the tooth in question must be
placed in one of the following classes,pulp exposed and infected,pulp undergoing decomposition,pulp
non-vital,but no periapical disturbance,pulp non-vital,with periapical disease.