We dentists try to detect any problems in your mouth. Often, they can be symptomless. Actually, we try to make sure everything is normal. However, as we don’t have Xray vision, (some patients think we do), some problems occur out sight (and out of mind).

When teeth have not been cleaned for a while, bacteria can collect under the gums on the root surface. The root surface is not as resistant to decay as the enamel and can decay quite quickly. Gastric reflux with its acidity can soften the root surface. Acidity favours bacteria that cause decay.

Sometimes, and adjacent tooth that has previous decay, may causes a chalky patch on the tooth. Later on, this may wear or decay more easily, causing a defect to occur… a cavity or hole.

X-rays allows us to see these problems. However, if the decay is progressing quickly, it may have chemically damaged the tooth structure without it physically causing a cavity to reflect its true size yet. We are looking for shades of darkens in the tooth structure, which indicates a loss of density in the tooth. 

So, on an X-ray it may not look like much but often you get a surprise when you open up the tooth. Sometimes, we may X-ray again a short time later to see if there is any progression of the darkness to be sure.

The example below was a patient whose only complaint was the occasional food getting stuck between his teeth. He wasn’t sure which tooth it was. Everything looked normal. However, the Xray showed up a suspicious small dark area.