You may be wondering “why do you take X-rays on baby teeth, aren’t they just going to fall out?” While it is true that the baby teeth “fall out” or exfoliate, these teeth need to be used for chewing and tearing food (and of course, smiling) until the adult teeth are ready to come in (some baby teeth don’t exfoliate until age 11 or 12!) – that’s why we need to make sure baby teeth stay cavity free!
X-rays are used as a diagnostic tool for dentists. While a visual examination is performed, some things cannot be seen without xrays. Some reasons for taking X-rays include checking for cavities between the teeth, check for missing or extra teeth, to see the positioning of unerupted teeth and evaluate the need for orthodontics, to check for infections, and to check fillings or the roots of teeth that might have experienced trauma.
While taking X-rays is not the most fun part of going to the dentist, it is an important part of ensuring the dentist can properly and completely diagnose any of your child’s dental needs and make sure we catch all of those sugar bugs!
