Technology & Patient Resources
Digital x-rays
Around 80 percent less radiation than traditional film, with high-resolution images available on the screen beside you the moment they are taken.
Every operatory here is equipped with digital sensors. The image appears on the monitor immediately rather than after processing, which means we can review it with you in the chair while the question is still live.
That immediacy matters more than it sounds. Being able to show you the decay under an old filling, on a screen, at the moment we are discussing it, changes the conversation from being asked to trust a recommendation to seeing the reason for it.
Digital versus traditional film
Radiation Dose
Roughly 80 percent lower with digital sensors — a meaningful difference for anyone having imaging regularly over decades.
Speed
Instant. No chemical processing, no waiting, and no repeat visit if an image needs retaking.
Image Quality
High resolution, and adjustable for contrast and magnification after capture to examine specific areas closely.
Storage & Comparison
Images are stored digitally and compared side by side against previous years, which is how slow changes get noticed.
On radiation, plainly
Dental x-ray doses are very low, and digital imaging reduces them further. We still take the view that the right number of x-rays is the number clinically justified — not a routine set at every visit regardless of need.
If you ask why a particular image is needed, you will get a specific answer rather than a policy.
How much less radiation, in published terms
Digital sensors replaced photographic film. Published comparisons report dose reductions of roughly 50 to 70 percent against the E-speed film they replaced, with the range across studies running from about 25 to 70 percent depending on the sensor, the film it is compared against and the exposure settings used.
A single digital intraoral image sits at roughly 1 to 8 microsieverts. Natural background radiation in Canada is about 1,800 to 2,000 microsieverts a year, so one image is a very small fraction of what you receive anyway.
One honest caveat: the reduction is not automatic. Retakes because of poor positioning, or exposure settings left higher than they need to be, remove the benefit. The dose advantage comes from using the equipment properly, not from owning it.
What else changes, beyond the dose
- The image is there immediately. No developing, no chemicals, no waiting. That matters most when something is hurting today and a decision is needed in the same appointment — emergency dentistry.
- It can be adjusted after the fact. Contrast and magnification can be altered on screen to look more closely at something, which with film would have meant another exposure.
- You can see it too. The image goes on a screen you are looking at, which makes a conversation about a finding considerably easier than describing a shadow on a small piece of film.
- It can be compared with last time. Change over time is often the diagnosis. Two images side by side show what one cannot.
- Nothing is stored in chemicals or lost in a drawer. Records travel with you if you move practice.
When a flat image is the right choice, and when it is not
Two-dimensional imaging is the right answer most of the time, and it is what we take unless there is a reason not to.
- A bitewing shows the contact points between back teeth, where decay starts and where no examination can see directly.
- A periapical shows a whole tooth including the root and the bone around its tip, which is what an infection shows up in.
- A panoramic shows both jaws in one image, useful for wisdom teeth and for an overall view.
What a flat image cannot do is show depth. Two structures that overlap on a two-dimensional image may be a centimetre apart. Where that distinction decides the treatment — the position of a nerve relative to a planned implant, for instance — three-dimensional imaging is what answers it — in-house 3D CBCT scanning.
Under Ontario's Healing Arts Radiation Protection Act, any x-ray is taken only where it is clinically indicated for that patient. We do not offer imaging as an inclusion or a perk, and we do not take a routine set because it is a new patient's first visit.
Common questions
How much less radiation than film?+
Published comparisons report roughly 50 to 70 percent less than the E-speed film digital sensors replaced, with study results ranging from about 25 to 70 percent depending on the sensor and the exposure settings.
How much radiation is one x-ray?+
A single digital intraoral image is roughly 1 to 8 microsieverts. Natural background radiation in Canada is about 1,800 to 2,000 microsieverts a year, so one image is a small fraction of what you receive from simply living here.
How often do I need x-rays?+
As often as there is a clinical reason, and no more. Ontario's Healing Arts Radiation Protection Act requires that imaging be taken only where it is indicated for that patient, so there is no fixed schedule that applies to everybody.
Can I refuse x-rays?+
You can, and we will tell you plainly what cannot be assessed without them. Decay between back teeth and bone loss around roots are both largely invisible to examination alone.
Why is a 3D scan sometimes needed instead?+
A flat image cannot show depth. Two structures that overlap on it may be a centimetre apart. Where that distinction decides the treatment, such as a nerve's position relative to a planned implant, three-dimensional imaging answers it.