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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Lower Area Of Gums Cast Dark Shadow. What Had Caused This?

I had a bite wing X-ray taken yesterday and the lower area of my gums cast a dark shadow. The dentist felt the area and tried to move my lower teeth to see if they were loose. She said she had never seen a shadow like that and wanted me to see an oral surgeon. I had also taken a pano digital X-ray of the same area and the dentist who took that last month did not notice any abnormalities. Please let me know if you can what is causing the shadow in one and not the other. Thank you.
Tue, 12 Mar 2013
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Dentist 's  Response
hello,
thanks for posting your query.
As per the details,your dentist had checked your teeth for mobility.

if mobile,there can be localised periodontitis.
the dark shadow may be the result of periapical infection.
i would advice you to get a deep scaling and root planning.
if teeth are mobile,bone grafting and splinting has to be done.
if abscess is associated,it has to be drained and curetted.
p lease do visit a periodontist and get exact diagnosis.
meanwhile,maintain good oral hygiene.
take care.
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Dentist Dr. Anshumala Singh's  Response
Dear friend.

thanks for sharing your concern.

Any dark shadow seen on radio graph suggest some pathology underneath the tooth.This happens in most of the cases.

But, sometimes radio graphs are deceiving too.I mean due to some technical error also you can see a dark shadow.This is called ARTIFACT in radiology.
Thats why only radiological evidence cannot justify a disease,it should be well supported by clinical symptoms as well.

Regarding your second query, different x rays are meant for different areas.

it is taken at different angle too so that one can see, what he/she wants to focus on leaving besides other structures, even though they may or may not appear in the x ray.

for example PNS view,occipital view,TMJ view,OPG,bite wing etc.

you must visit your oral surgeon with your x rays to rule out any pathology like periapical cysts,tumours,etc.

hope it helps.
thanks
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1 Doctor agrees with this answer

Dentist Dr. Qazi Ammara's  Response
Hi,
Thanks for asking the query,

Dark shadow can be because of some pathology, which will be evaluated both clinically as well as radiographically.

This can due to some artifact or some error at the time of taking the x-ray.

To rule out the pathologies i would suggest you to repeat the x-ray
and take x-ray from different views like OPG, bitewing , PNS view.

REGARDS..
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Dentist Dr. Latif's  Response
hi dear oaneh
this shadow is most probably the developing and fixing error of the imaging xray ,,,
such shadows are common in PA view bite wing ,xrays. there is no need of worry for this. if you feel some mobility in nearby teeth or you feel sensitivity or pain on chewing then there might be some chances of periapical infection or some tress trauma,,,,
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Dentist Dr. Farah Hussain's  Response
hello ,

Dark shadows in the radiographs are nothing but radiolucent areas showing some kind on abnormal growths, infection or bone loss.

Bite wing x rays are taken to detect the proximal caries in the teeth , how ever bite wing x ray do not show periapical areas and infections.

An OPG radiograph will show the entire picture of the jaw and the abnormalities.

we cannot relay on x rays alone , after reading your history i suspect some kind of infection with the tooth so i suggest you to go for some pathological tests approaching an oral surgeon.

i hope this helps ,

take care.

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Dentist Dr. Neha Gupta's  Response
Hello,
I am Dr.Neha Gupta (dentist) and am glad to address to your query here.

You might be having pareapical infection which is seen on x-ray as dark shadow.
If periapical abscess occurs,teeth has to be root-canal treated,the abscess has to be drained out and curetted.
Deep scaling and root planning has to be done to prevent it.
maintain good oral hygiene.
brush your teeth twice daily using toothbrush.
rinse your mouth after every meals.
chlorhexidine mouthrinses can prevent plaque accumulation
if your teeth are mobile,bone grafting and splinting has to be done

Take care and please keep me informed of your progress at healthcaremagic through my profile directly.
Regards
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Lower Area Of Gums Cast Dark Shadow. What Had Caused This?

hello, thanks for posting your query. As per the details,your dentist had checked your teeth for mobility. if mobile,there can be localised periodontitis. the dark shadow may be the result of periapical infection. i would advice you to get a deep scaling and root planning. if teeth are mobile,bone grafting and splinting has to be done. if abscess is associated,it has to be drained and curetted. p lease do visit a periodontist and get exact diagnosis. meanwhile,maintain good oral hygiene. take care.