Getting a Better View
There’s not a lot of space in the human mouth. Some teeth can be hard to examine. Dentists often use a mouth mirror to reflect an image of your teeth and gums to a visible angle, but technological advances offer another tool to get a better view of your oral health: intraoral cameras. An intraoral camera is a lightweight wand with a tiny camera lens attached to the end, typically with a tiny light and an autofocus feature. It can take quality pictures of teeth, gums, your tongue, and other soft tissues.
Benefits of Intraoral Cameras
Since they are small and maneuverable, intraoral cameras help dentists get visual access of otherwise inaccessible areas in your mouth. Using these cameras, some dentists find it easier to identify issues such as tooth decay and periodontal disease or verify a chipped or cracked tooth as compared to a cavity. Intraoral cameras also help to identify health issues that cannot be detected with the naked eye. Pictures taken with the camera allow your dentist to “zoom in” and examine your teeth and gums, at resolutions much larger than their normal size.
Arguably one of the greatest benefits of digital images of your tooth is that you and your dentist can view the pictures together. Instead of merely describing what they see, your dentist shows you what they found. If you are in need of a dental procedure like a root canal or All on 4 dental implants, an intraoral camera gives a clear presentation of the mouth for patient and practitioner.
Intraoral cameras are just one of the many helpful technological tools in dental practice. There are many others, and we may cover several of them in articles over the coming months. But if you would like to know more about the tools your dentist in Placerville uses for your oral care, feel free to bring up the subject at your next checkup. If you do not have a semiannual checkup scheduled yet, please give our office a call or let us know using our online form. Together, we’ll make your oral health picture perfect!
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