The Why's and What's of Dental X-ray
Posted: 2012-01-16
Studies have shown that without dental radiographs, significant pathology and disease is missed in up to 75% of pets. Westbridge Veterinary Hospital has therefore invested in a high resolution digital dental radiograph system, and includes full mouth x-rays on every patient undergoing complete oral health exams. The purpose of this entry is to explain and outline the necessity of dental radiographs in our veterinary patients.
If a pet has succumb to an injury, for example being hit by a car, basic diagnostics are required to ensure that any ailments are detected, and treated appropriated. For example, if they are limping afterwards, an x-ray is necessary to develop a treatment plan (e.g. is there a fracture?). When a pet presents with inappetence and vomiting for an extended period of time, diagnostics such as blood testing are necessary to determine the problem, and therefore develop a treatment plan. Do you see where this is going?
Well over 2/3 or 66% of a tooth in our canine and feline patient resides underneath the gum line. This includes the majority of the important structures of a tooth. With this in mind, the reasoning for dental x-rays can be put quite simply – it is the ONLY way to examine the entire tooth and all of its inner structures. To demonstrate this thought, a 1998 study (Verstraete et al. Am J Vet Res 1998 59: 692-5), in animals with abnormal findings on oral examination, full mouth radiographs showed other undetected pathology or disease in over 50% of cases. Further, in those with no clinical findings on exam, radiographs showed clinically important pathology in 27.8% of dogs and 41.7% of cats. If you would like more information on dental radiography including many real case examples of their importance, please visit our dental x-ray page on our website.
This blog entry was written by Westbridge Veterinary Hospital, an animal clinic in Mississauga dedicated to providing high quality, modern veterinary care to our beloved pets and their families.
