At the Hanover Dental Clinic, we are striving to offer modern technology and are excited to announce that we are the first dental office in Steinbach to offer digital radiography. Digital radiography is a form of x-ray imaging, where digital x-ray sensors are used instead of traditional film.
There are many advantages of using digital radiography. We live in a society that is very health conscious, and we understand your concerns about excess radiation exposure. We want to help protect your loved ones. Less radiation is used to produce an image when using digital radiography in comparison to using traditional film. It is estimated that there is approximately 70% – 90% less radiation exposure when using our digital sensors in comparison to the traditional film. We also have a large panoramic digital x-ray machine used to take larger x-ray images for patients. This technology offers reduced radiation of an estimated 50%, compared to that of the old technology.
Digital radiography allows the dental team to communicate with other practitioner’s with ease. One of the most useful advantages of the digital radiography is the ability it gives the dental team to send images to another dentist/specialist in a matter of minutes. These images are sent with your consent via e-mail. By sending the images and referral information via e-mail we can reduce the wait time for patients who need an appointment to see a specialist or another dentist.
Digital radiography also allows us to store data directly in your patient file. The software program allows the dental team to pull up specific stored radiographic images quickly and efficiently. Patients who have been in any specific practice for a number of years have large charts because of the accumulation of x-ray’s that have been organized in plastic or cardboard holders. Now, with this new technology we no longer need to be concerned with sorting through these holders to find the correct image we are searching for. The images are now stored directly in your patient file and can be easily accessed and viewed.
Digital technology has enabled us to do our part to help save the environment! By using digital technology we no longer need to use the developer and fixer solutions that are necessary when using traditional film.
Digital radiography allows the dental team to enhance the x-ray images. The contrast of the images can be made lighter and/or darker according to the preference of the dentist. The images can be made larger for easier viewing, and color enhancements, notes and measurements can be made and recorded when necessary. These features are helpful when diagnosing and creating treatment plans for our patients. These benefits also help us to educate our patients about what and why treatment is necessary. We can enlarge the x-ray images and can show patients where decay is present. This enlarged image also allows us to show healthy bone levels compared to areas that have lost bone support which can lead to other concerns such as tooth loss if the bone loss is too advanced. It is a wonderful tool to help increase patient dental knowledge, and encourage them to see their dental team regularly.
We are pleased to be able to share this technology and to offer its benefits to our patients!
