X-Ray of Tooth Decay

This dental xray shows caries (decay) affecting the upper right second premolar. The blue arrows point to both the mesial (front) and distal (back) carious lesions seen by the radiolucent (darker) areas. Both cavities extend through the enamel into the dentine, the mesial cavity being more extensive than the distal cavity. This tooth has already been filled previously by a dentist. The presence of an occlusal restoration (filling) is shown by the radio-opaque (white) area in centre of the coronal aspect. The dental decay may not be apparent from just an intra oral (visual) examination of the mouth as the lesions are on the surfaces in between adjacent teeth. For this reason dental xrays provide an excellent tool for assisting the dentist in the detection of such cavities. For restoration of this tooth, there are several restorative material options available. These range from a simple amalgam restoration up to more advanced cosmetic dentistry orientated options such as porcelain inlays.