Dental radiography plays an important role in (veterinary) dentistry. This is because the major part of a teeth is inside the jawbone and cannot be seen from the outside.  The only way to visualise this part is with a radiograph. If you don’t take dental x-rays you might miss certain abnormalities.

In cats there is a disease which causes resorption of the root of the elements: Feline Odontoclastic  Resoptive Lesions (FORL). The cause of this disease is still unknown. At the moment there are different studies trying to identify the underlying causes of this disease, and it seems to be a multi-factorial process. When the root canal gets involved in this process, it can be very painful for the cat. Because this disease is mostly seen in the first molar, we routinely take radiographs of this element on both sides.