When X-rays are passed through your mouth, more X-rays are absorbed by the denser parts of your mouth, such as teeth and bone, than by soft tissues. The X-rays strike the film that is behind your tooth, and this creates an image on the film. Tooth decay, infections, gum disease and other signs of dental change in your mouth appear darker because of more X-ray penetration.
Dentists consider X-rays one of the most useful tools in helping patients maintain good oral health. X-rays help dentists diagnose relatively common disorders such as cavities, periodontal disease and infections, and some of the more uncommon problems, such as cysts, abscesses and tumors.

In today’s digital age, dentistry is making great advances in lowering the radiation dose administered during a dental X-ray. In the 1930s and 1940s, the cone used for x-rays covered most of the head and neck. Today, the cone is very small, so radiation is only pointed at the small spot where the X-ray film is located.

An even newer advance is digital X-rays using sensors that feed the images to a computer. The digital X-ray system is more sensitive than dental X-ray film systems, so exposure to X-rays is cut by as much as 90 percent. Lakes Park Children's Dentistry & Orthodontics ONLY uses digital X-rays.
You are exposed to many sources of radiation every day, from the sun, minerals in the soil, your home appliances. Excess radiation can damage the body’s tissues and cells and can lead to the development of cancer, but fortunately, the radiation to which you are exposed while taking dental X-rays is extremely minute.
Without the ability to see inside a tooth and beneath the gums, more disease would go unchecked and more teeth would be lost because proper treatment wasn’t started in time. If dental problems are found and treated early, dental care is more comfortable and affordable. Dental x-rays are not without risk, but the risk is minuscule compared to the huge diagnostic benefit of keeping your natural teeth healthy and disease free.