Digital X-Rays
Preventive dentistry, including comprehensive dental exams, is the foundation for excellent oral health. During these routine checkups, our dentists look for signs of cavities and gum disease to diagnose and treat problems in their earliest stages.
Visual dental exams tell us a lot, but we are limited to what we can see with the naked eye. Since we cannot treat what we can't see, we use digital x-rays to get a full picture of your oral health so that we can identify problems and plan treatment accordingly.
Your Safety Is Our Priority
Recent advances in dental technology have reduced radiation levels emitted by routine film x-rays, but we have chosen digital x-rays to protect our patients further. The level of radiation to which you are exposed is small compared to other sources of radiation in your everyday life. For example, a set of bitewing dental x-rays exposes you to about the same radiation you would receive during a two-hour flight.
Diagnosis and Prevention Go Hand in Hand
It's always in your best interest if we can identify and diagnose and treat issues like gum disease and cavities as early as possible. When we do, we can help you avoid discomfort and the cost of more complex treatment in the future. By further ensuring your safety with digital x-rays, we can develop a personalized treatment plan to help you achieve full oral health!
Benefits of Digital X-Rays
Using digital x-rays offers many benefits:
Your safety is our priority, and we use digital x-rays because they deliver about 80 percent less radiation than traditional film x-rays.
- Digital x-ray technology produces highly detailed images that help us detect problems like cavities and gum disease when they are easier to treat.
- Built-in tools in the x-ray software improve the analysis of the image, so we get more information with less radiation.
- We can share your digital x-ray image with you on our chairside monitors, and our dentists will show you exactly what the problem is and why treatment is necessary.
- We store your x-rays in your digital patient file, so they are easy to access in the future. We can also send your x-rays securely online to your insurance company or specialist as needed.
- Digital x-rays don't require hazardous chemicals to develop, making them better for the environment.
Call to Schedule Your Next Dental Exam
Dr. Michael Smith views an investment in technology as an investment in you and your optimal oral health. You can always expect the highest standard of dental care from a team you trust to understand your needs and safeguard your oral health.
If it's time for your next dental exam, please call us! We would love to show you how easily we can help you achieve great oral health by combining our skills and experience with state-of-the-art technology.
Dr. Smith is very quick pleasant to talk to you
At my first visit I was giving options of Ways to repair my tooth or replace it really.
Dr. Smith is very quick pleasant to talk to you. It’s very easy to get an Appointment. And the staff is very nice and polite. Now that I see Dr. Smith I don’t mind going to the dentist.
- Cheryl S.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dentists can’t treat what they can’t see, and many dental problems develop inside teeth or under the gums—areas that we can’t detect with a visual exam alone. For this reason, digital dental x-rays are essential for accurately diagnosing these conditions and providing the most appropriate treatment.
When we take digital x-rays, we are looking for:
- Cavities between teeth
- Decay under existing fillings
- Bone loss related to gum disease
- Root canal infections or abscesses
- Abnormal growths including tumors or cysts
Your x-rays help us detect these conditions and also assist us in planning root canals, tooth extractions, and dental implant placement.
Bitewing x-rays that show us the crowns of molars and premolars help aid in the early diagnosis of decay and gum disease. If you have a healthy smile and no history of dental problems, we may only take x-rays every two or three years.
For patients with ongoing issues like gum disease or a history of poor oral health, our dentists might recommend them every year. We would also recommend a set of bitewings to establish a baseline if you are a new patient who doesn’t have current x-rays.
Your safety is of the utmost importance to us, which is why we use digital x-rays that emit about 80 percent less radiation than film-type x-rays. You can be confident that we never take unnecessary x-rays and will always explain why we recommend one and what we hope to learn from it.
Please call our dental office in Bellevue if you are ready to schedule your next dental checkup.
Meet Our Doctors:
Dr. Michael T. Smith
Dr. Michael Smith was raised in New Melle, a small town in Missouri. He attended St. Louis University High School, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and finally SIU School ...
Dr. Snowber Fazili
Dr. Nicholas Swanson
Dr. Nicholas Swanson was raised in Mascoutah, Illinois, and remained in the local area to attend SIUE for college. He first entered the dental field in 2019 as an assistant to Dr. Smith, and later graduated from the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine in 2024.
Initially, he joined the Air National Guard right after high school in 2013, but he is currently serving as a Captain in the Dental Corps of the Illinois Army National Guard, stationed at Camp Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois.
In his personal time, Dr. Swanson ...
Digital X-Rays Technology
Digital X-Rays
Our dentists would not be doing their job if they did not take periodic x-rays of your teeth at our Belleville dental office. We cannot treat what we can’t see, and dental x-rays allow us to accurately diagnose conditions like decay, gum disease, and infections long before they do long-term damage to your oral health.
At the office of Michael Smith, DMD, we use only digital x-rays that protect our patients by emitting about 80 percent less radiation than film x-rays. Our dentists use them for diagnosing and treating conditions, but they’re also an invaluable educational tool. Because digital x-rays produce such crisp, highly-detailed images, we can show them to you on your chairside monitor, and you can see what we see.
We use state-of-the-art digital sensors to take your x-rays that make the process more comfortable than you might remember in the past. We also use panoramic x-rays when we need to see all of your teeth in a single image.
Panoramic X-Rays
Routine dental x-rays are essential to help us see what’s happening inside your teeth. Sometimes, however, our dentists need to see your entire mouth in a single image and would recommend a panoramic dental x-ray.
A digital panoramic x-ray shows us your jaws, all your upper and lower teeth, and surrounding structures. These images allow our dentists to determine the position of your teeth and roots, gauge bone levels in your jaw, analyze your jaw joints, and look for cysts or tumors.
Another benefit of panoramic x-rays is that they are taken extra-orally (outside the mouth), making them perfect for adults and children who can’t stand having intraoral (inside the mouth) x-rays taken.