I am happy to announce an improvement in our x-ray technology in the last few months. X-ray technology has taken the same path that general photography has taken from film that has to be developed, fixed, dried, and physically stored to a digital process that allows instant image capture and storage into the patient’s record in a digital format.
The way we make x-ray images is greatly expanded using a new panoramic machine. The first improvement is in the quality of the images. The quality is so good that a single panoramic image can replace the multiple images necessary for a “full mouth series”. The benefits are that it uses much less radiation, takes much less time, and is much more comfortable for the patient than the traditional “full mouth series” was.
Additionally, there is a new feature available with this panoramic machine called Extra-Oral Bitewings. “Bitewings” are the small images that we take every one or two years to find the cavities between the back teeth. These are the ones everybody hates because you have to bite on that sharp film holder in your mouth … up to four times. With our new machine we can look for those cavities without putting anything at all in your mouth. That’s what “extra-oral” means … nothing in your mouth. Patients who have a strong gag reflex are very excited about the new and much improved experience. These new images are more comfortable, faster, provide more information and require only one-quarter the radiation of our previous bitewings.
On the occasion that we need to make images from inside the mouth, we now use new digital x-ray sensors that also require much less radiation than film did. They have more rounded surfaces that many people find more comfortable than the sharper film that was historically used. Additionally, we now can see the images instantly on the computer monitor. That saves time and insures that the view includes all of the information that we need to see.
All of these improvements are in addition to upgrades in the computers and software. That has a benefit in enhancing the diagnostic value of each x-ray image. Previously the x-ray films would be stored physically in a patient’s chart. If there were to be a disaster, the physical patient records and x-ray film could be rendered useless. Now the images can be stored in the office computers on-site and also backed up to an off-site location.
We are currently in the process of scanning the old x-ray film images for each current patient into a digital format. The benefit for us will be that all of the patient’s old and new x-ray information will be in the same place and in the same format in each patient’s file. Additionally, this provides the ability to back up the old x-ray information to an off-site location that was previously impossible with film x-rays.
All of this is to enhance the diagnostic quality of the x-ray technology and also reduce the amount of radiation exposure. Having a redundant back-up of each patient’s file is a benefit that I hope is never needed but one that is very important when the need arises
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