The importance of dental radiology

Though a pet's mouth may appear normal to the naked eye when performing a dental exam, there may be a problem lurking below the surface. According to veterinary technician Denise S. Rollings, AAS, CVT, VTS (Dentistry), founder of Pet Dental Education, “Sometimes we don’t see anything on the oral exam, and we take a radiograph, and we can see some pretty substantial disease.”

Rollings then highlighted what to look out for when performing a dental radiograph, plus the findings that may emerge.

"The majority of the tooth is below the gum line and that's where we're going to find the pathology. Generally, we're looking for what we consider attachment loss or bone loss which is going to look for periodontal disease...and then we're also looking for endodontic disease so that's infection from inside the tooth."

“We can find tooth resorption, unerupted teeth, oral masses in the bone taking radiographs, so they are a part of a comprehensive exam just like it is for us [humans],” added Rollings.

Watch the full video below to learn more about the importance of dental radiology.