Apologies for the delay since our last blog post – I hope you enjoy this month’s post all about dental x-rays.
April is dental month here at Briarhill Veterinary Clinic and this year we decided to celebrate by investing in some new equipment: a dental x-ray machine. Your pet’s dental health a profound knock-on effect on their over all health and so that is why we have made this investment: to bring your pet the best care possible.
This machine allows us to get a clear image of the tooth roots in our patients; something which is just not possible with a conventional x-ray machine. We are constantly evolving and striving to give patients in our care the best options possible and so we hope this new machine will give us a much more complete picture of your pet’s dental health.
Did you know: the portion of the tooth we can see in our pets is only a fraction of the whole tooth? it is quite literally only the tip of the iceberg. Dental X-rays allow us to look beneath the gum line, highlighting teeth which may appear normal but are in fact painful and in need of extraction once you can see below the gum line.
Here are some photos I took during a recent dental to highlight just how much of the tooth lies beneath the surface:
Everything from the red line and up was hidden beneath the gum line – this example is from a canine tooth in a German Shepherd dog but the same is true for our small breed dogs and cats too. In fact dental x-rays are ESPECIALLY important in our feline patients because of the small, fragile roots of the teeth. Dental X-rays allow us to check and make sure that no painful root fragments have been left behind during an extraction.
Using the new dental x-ray machine, we will be able to get a clear picture of your pet’s dental health both above and below the gum line. We recommend dental x-rays to all our patient’s undergoing a dental procedure in order to ensure we are not missing any disease processes beneath the gum line. We will be able to pick up on conditions such as: tooth root abscess, unerupted teeth, oral tumours, jaw bone loss and tooth resorption. For all these reasons, veterinary dental xrays are essential in order to keep your pet healthy, happy and pain free.
