In human dentistry, it is a routine to have state-of-the-art full mouth dental x-rays taken when you are at the dentist for an annual check-up. Now, NASVC is proud to announce, we can offer this gold standard of diagnostic for your pet as well.

Why should dental x-rays be performed?

We can compare a tooth to an iceberg: only around 30% of the tooth is visible; 70% of the tooth is hidden under the gum. The root of the tooth, which is very likely to be the cause of dental problems, is covered by bone and gum and cannot be assessed at all by the naked eye.

If you ever had a toothache, then you know how painful that can be. Our animals can have a toothache too, but they will often hide their pain, and it may take some time until you recognise that they are suffering.

Some special breeds of cats are prone to suffer from Feline Odontoclastic Resorptive Lesions (FORL). This is a disease in the tooth’ root which is very painful and can cause severe infection and fever. FORL can only properly diagnosed using dental-specific-x-rays.

Studies show that up to 80% of dogs and cats older than three years have dental issues, but without dental x-rays, the evidence required to diagnose and treat these issues is missed in around 20% of dogs and 45% of cats. Our aim at NASVC is to provide our clients and patients with the most up-to-date services, and so dental x-rays will now be included in our dental procedures.

Difference between dental x-rays and “normal” x-rays:

X-rays always show a 2-dimensional view of a 3-dimensional body. With a “normal” x -ray of your pet’s teeth, taken from outside the mouth, you will always see the teeth and roots of the opposite side of the mouth too. No matter how well the head is positioned, or how good the x-ray machine is, there will always be superimposed view, which makes accurate diagnoses impossible.

Dental x-rays can only be performed under sedation as we must place the radiology plate inside the mouth. Our dental x-ray is digital, which means that we can digitally post-process the x-rays. So, the process is less time consuming with fewer pictures, less radiation exposure and a shorter sedation for your pet. As we are concerned about your animals’ health, we offer special bundles for full mouth dental x- rays. Please feel free to contact us, if you have any questions regarding dentistry or dental x -rays.

Here you see the incisors of a two-year-old sight hound “PAN”. They look perfectly normal: no signs of infection, no bleeding, not loose and no other abnormalities. The owner noted, that it does not like to carry things around anymore. Dental x-ray was performed. The picture shows, that the root is fractured (circle). This is very painful and can lead to a severe mouth infection. As the upper incisors are close to the nasal cavity the infection of the root can also lead to an infection of the nasal cavity. Tooth after extraction. This is the problem that we would have missed if we would not have taken dental x-rays and it would have been very painful for the dog. “PAN” is all happy now and has a special smile.