Diagnosing Your Smile With Digital Imaging

When you have sore, red, bleeding, or receding gums, then you need a diagnosis as these could be warning signs of periodontal disease. Without treatment, you risk painful symptoms and even tooth loss! In today’s blog, your Encinitas/San Diego, CA, periodontist talks about obtaining an accurate diagnosis with digital x-rays.

When to Seek a Diagnosis

When should you schedule a visit with a periodontist? We urge you to see our team when you experience any changes to your gums, as this could indicate gingivitis or even gum disease. The sooner we offer care to manage the disease, the more likely you are to avoid worsening pain and even tooth loss. Changes to your gums could include soreness that wasn’t apparent before, or greater redness. If they bleed when you brush or floss, or if they swell or start to recede, then you should contact our team right away.

Digital X-Rays

Our team wants to accurately assess the threat to your smile with precision. With digital x-rays, we use a system that employs 90% less radiation to capture detailed and high-definition pictures of your smile. The images enable us to see your roots and jawbone structures, so we can assess any damage to changes to them due to the disease. We also help assess the severity of your periodontal concerns. The process mean’s no bitewings, and the images are available right away chairside, so we can walk you through the diagnosis and you spend less time overall in the chair. We can easily send the images to your general dentist or other specialists as needed.

Creating a Treatment Plan

Once we understand the cause and severity of your periodontal concerns, our team then creates a treatment plan to address them and protect your smile from issues like sore and bleeding gums, recession, or even tooth loss. We can often do so with the use of dental lasers, which enables us to reshape and modify the gum and bone structure, and also destroy pockets of harmful bacteria. We can remove excess or diseased tissues and reshape the gum line with precision and comfort too. This technology also reduces the risk of soreness, bleeding, and infection, and allows you to return to your normal routine in as little as 24 to 48 hours.

If you have any questions about a diagnosis with digital x-rays, then contact our team today to learn more.

Talk to Dr. Kania About Our Advanced Imaging Systems

We would like to help you obtain optimal treatment with a precise and accurate diagnosis. To learn more about the technology we use to diagnose your smile, or to schedule your appointment, give us a call at our office in Encinitas, CA today at 760-642-0711.