Extra Wisdom Teeth - My Brother's Surprise Dental X-Ray Findings

[zoobyshoe]

I just got back from a new dentist where I had another tooth pulled. The novocaine is still running strong so I'm in no pain.

Anyway, this dentist had a wonderful digital x-ray system. The thingy they put in your mouth is wired to a computer with a huge monitor. As soon as the x-ray gun is done firing the picture comes up on the screen 20 times life size. My old dentist had nothing like this. The dental assistant said they've already had it for three years.

Are they doing x-rays like this in hospitals, too, now? It was totally cool.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I just got back from a new dentist where I had another tooth pulled. The novocaine is still running strong so I'm in no pain.

Anyway, this dentist had a wonderful digital x-ray system. The thingy they put in your mouth is wired to a computer with a huge monitor. As soon as the x-ray gun is done firing the picture comes up on the screen 20 times life size. My old dentist had nothing like this. The dental assistant said they've already had it for three years.

Are they doing x-rays like this in hospitals, too, now? It was totally cool.

That does sound like a very cool x-ray system. I am sorry about your tooth, though.

R.I.P. Zooby Tooth, 2006

What was the thing they put in your mouth to do the x-ray? what did it look like? Does it make pictures of all your teeth, or just one? My dentist has the old stuff here. They take pictures and then they go and develop the film.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I had all 4 wisdom teeth impacted and the bottom two were facing sideways in my jaw. The roots in them formed hooks way into my jaw. My surgeon had to cut down first, then push the tooth down and twist it to get the sucker out. To top it off, he did this while I was awake! I just got a bazillion shots of novacaine (sp?). He even kept my xrays and wisdom teeth themselves as a "prize". lol. I recovered in about two weeks, but my right cheek was swollen for about a month.

If that surgeon tried to do that to me without general anesthesia, I would remove and keep a couple of his things as a "prize".

 

[Moonbear]

Are they doing x-rays like this in hospitals, too, now? It was totally cool.

Yes, everything is going digital. It makes it a lot easier when you go to a new doctor or dentist too, because you don't have to wait for them to make duplicates of the x-rays and mail them out, they can just zap 'em over by email!

 

[zoobyshoe]

That does sound like a very cool x-ray system. I am sorry about your tooth, though.

R.I.P. Zooby Tooth, 2006

Yes, it was completely unexpected. A crown broke clean off leaving roots that weren't properly bound together. That is: one was cracked off from the other two. Now I'm going to have to wait 6 months for the gum to heal in a stable fashion before he'll make me a bridge.

What was the thing they put in your mouth to do the x-ray? what did it look like? Does it make pictures of all your teeth, or just one? My dentist has the old stuff here. They take pictures and then they go and develop the film.

The thing they put in your mouth is what senses the x-rays. It's the same basic size and shape as the ones they use in photographic x-rays. The only difference is that it has a small diameter cable coming off it that leads into the computer. It was small, and about three teeth were photographed on it. I think that's the minimum.

I've never had a panoramic x-ray, but I imagine it involves a long strip of film that's curved in back of all your teeth at once.

I've never been much bothered by having the film in my mouth. It's the fact of x-rays that bothers me, even thought everyone says the dose is too low to hurt you. This digital imaging completely eliminates the wait for the film to be developed and dried, which is great.