Dental X-Rays and Imaging in Frisco, TX
Honest answers about dental X-rays, radiation and intervals — and a scanner that finds decay between teeth with no radiation at all.
Types of dental X-rays we take in Frisco, and why
Different images answer different questions, and no dentist should take one that will not change what happens next.
Bitewing X-rays: the routine check-up view
Two to four small images showing where teeth touch each other, which is where decay starts and where nothing can be seen or felt until it is well advanced. Taken every six to twenty-four months depending on your decay history — timed to your own risk.
Periapical X-rays: one tooth, whole root
Taken when a specific tooth has a symptom or a question attached: pain, a deep restoration, suspected infection at the root tip, or before root canal treatment. Targeted to that tooth.
Panoramic dental X-ray: the wide view
A single image of both jaws, sinuses and joints. It shows wisdom teeth, cysts, and the overall picture, and it is deliberately not good at showing small decay. Every few years, or when there is a reason.
CBCT 3D scan: only when it changes your plan
Our RayScan Alpha Plus gives a 3-D volume. It is essential for implant planning and for seeing exactly where the nerve runs beneath a lower wisdom tooth. It also carries a meaningfully higher dose than a bitewing, which is precisely why it is used only where it changes the plan.
NIRI — decay imaging with no radiation
Near-infrared imaging on the iTero Lumina passes light through the tooth. Sound enamel is translucent to it and decay is not, so early lesions between teeth show up as shadows on a screen. No radiation at all, so it can be used as often as we like — including on people for whom we would rather minimize X-rays.
Overjet AI: a second read on your X-rays
Our X-rays are also analyzed by Overjet, an FDA-cleared AI system that marks up decay and bone levels. It does not diagnose and it does not decide anything. It is a second pair of eyes on an image a human has already read. And it makes the reasons visible on the screen when we are showing you why we are recommending something.
Low-radiation dental imaging: NIRI and our handheld X-ray unit
What NIRI imaging is good for
Near-infrared imaging is genuinely useful and it is worth being precise about where. Light passes through enamel; decay scatters it; a lesion between two teeth shows as a dark shadow on the screen with no radiation involved. That makes it excellent for watching a small area between teeth over time. It is the sort of early lesion where the right answer is fluoride and a re-check in six months, not a drill. And it is one of the few things in a dental practice you can look at yourself and understand immediately. What it does not do is replace X-rays. It does not see bone level, root tips, infection, or anything under an existing filling or crown. So it is an addition that reduces uncertainty between X-ray intervals, not a way of avoiding them. And anyone presenting it as radiation-free dentistry is overselling a good tool.
What we do when we find early decay
Handheld X-ray unit: what it means for you
Most dental X-rays are taken with a wall-mounted arm, and the person taking them leaves the room. Ours is a Nomad Pro 2, a handheld unit with internal shielding, which means whoever is taking your X-rays stays beside you. That sounds like a small thing, and it is not, for two groups in particular. An anxious adult does not want to be left alone mid-appointment. And a child will hold still for somebody standing next to them, but not for a room that has just emptied. Fewer retakes because a child moved is, incidentally, less radiation — the comfort and the dose argument point the same way here.
Dental X-rays near Frisco, Prosper and Plano
Dental X-rays are taken in our office at 8175 Custer Rd, Suite A110, Frisco, TX 75035, with a handheld unit so someone stays beside you. We are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 AM to 6 PM and Saturday from 9 AM to 3 PM. Wednesday and Sunday we are closed, though the phone is still answered on Wednesday. Patients come from Frisco and from Prosper, Plano, Little Elm, Allen, Celina and McKinney. If you have recent X-rays from another dentist, send them first and we may not need new ones.
Call (469) 262-2111How much radiation is in a dental X-ray?
The useful comparison is not to zero — it is to the background radiation you receive anyway, simply from living.
| Image | Roughly equivalent to |
|---|---|
| Two to four bitewings | Around a day of ordinary background radiation |
| A single periapical | Less than that again |
| A panoramic | A few days of background radiation |
| A dental CBCT | Substantially more — days to weeks, depending on the field size |
| A NIRI scan | None at all |
| A transatlantic flight | More than a set of bitewings |
What to ask before any X-ray
“What are you looking for, and will the answer change what we do?”
That is the whole test, and it is the standard the profession sets for itself. An image should be taken only because it will affect a decision, regardless of any schedule or plan coverage.
A good answer is specific. You have had three cavities in two years and I want to see between these back teeth. This tooth is tender to bite on and I need to see the root tip. We are planning an implant and I need to know where the nerve runs.
A weaker answer is that it is time.
There is nothing awkward about asking. It is your dose and your record, and any practice doing this properly will have a real reason ready.
X-rays are one part of a routine visit. See what else happens at a teeth cleaning and exam. The iTero wellness scan tracks changes with no radiation, and tooth-colored fillings are what we use when early decay does need treating. A CBCT scan also helps plan dental implants, and costs are covered on our teeth cleaning cost page.
Holistic Dentistry and Dental X-Rays
In our holistic approach, we take an image only when it will change your plan. Before any X-ray, we ask whether the answer will change what we do, and we tell you the reason.
Where we can, we use the iTero scanner with near-infrared imaging, which can show early decay between teeth without using radiation. A 3-D scan is used when planning needs it, such as for dental implants. Our whole-health care page explains the rest of how we work.
Searching for dental X-rays near you? We are on Custer Road in east Frisco.
Time in the chair for X-rays.
The scale runs to five hours — the same scale on every page, so the bars are comparable across the whole site.
Dental X-ray cost in Frisco, with and without insurance
You are entitled to copies of your own X-rays, and you should have them if you go to another practice. Ask and we will send them — that is not a favor.
You get the figure in writing before treatment starts. We accept all major PPO plans and file the claim for you, our membership plan takes a percentage off treatment, and CareCredit financing is available.
How plans usually cover X-rays.
Preventive and diagnostic — Class I on most plans
- What plans pay
- Usually paid at 100%, which is why X-rays feels free at the desk. It is not free; it is prepaid, and it is the part of the plan worth using every year.
- Deductible
- Usually waived. Most plans do not apply the deductible to preventive care, which is one of the few pieces of good news in plan design.
What catches people out
- Frequency limits are counted by date — not by calendar year. "Two cleanings a year" usually means six months and a day between them, so an appointment moved a week early can be the one that is not paid.
- It still spends your annual maximum. The plan paying 100% is the plan paying out, and that draws the ceiling down even though you hand over nothing — which is exactly how two ordinary visits can leave very little behind.
- Some plans exclude preventive care from the maximum altogether. We check whether yours does, because it changes how the whole year should be sequenced.
- Frequency limits differ by type of image. Bitewings once or twice a year, a full set or panoramic once every three to five years, is common wording — and it counts from the last one wherever it was taken, so records from a previous dentist genuinely matter.
These are how dental plans usually classify this treatment — not a statement about your own plan. Yours is the one that governs, plans differ more than people expect, and the only reliable answer comes from reading your specific benefits, which we always do ahead of treatment and give you in writing.
And what changes out-of-network
A dentist who is in-network has signed a contract fixing what may be charged for each procedure and cannot bill you the difference. One who is out-of-network has signed nothing, so the full fee stands.
So the first difference is the price itself — the same treatment is simply allowed to cost more out-of-network, before anyone's plan is considered.
What you personally pay out of that depends on your own deductible and coinsurance, which is why there is no percentage here: it is not a property of the treatment, it is a property of your plan, and we verify yours before you commit. But two things follow for everybody. Your share is a share of a bigger number. And your annual maximum is spent by what the plan pays toward that bigger number, so the same treatment eats more of your benefit out-of-network.
An illustration, not a quote. These are the allowed fees for X-rays — taken from our own contracted schedules. An allowed fee is what the contract permits to be charged, in network and out. It is not what you pay: your deductible and your coinsurance decide that, and we work yours out in writing before you commit to anything.
Check the going rate yourself
FAIR Health's dental cost lookup is free, needs no account, and is not ours — it reports what a procedure typically costs in your area. It does not know your plan, so treat it as a ballpark figure — not a final answer.
Ask us for the number first
We verify your specific plan before your appointment and give you a written estimate: what the plan is expected to pay, and what you pay. If we get it wrong we tell you why.
Bring an Explanation of Benefits
Treated somewhere else? Your EOB shows exactly what the plan paid and what it counted against your maximum. Bring one in and we will read it with you — whether or not you become a patient here.
None of this says out-of-network dentists are worse dentists. Plenty are excellent, plenty are out-of-network for sound reasons, and people choose a dentist for who that person is. What we think you are owed is the information, so that whatever you choose, you chose it knowingly. The whole thing, explained properly, or call (469) 262-2111 and ask.
- Hours
- Weekdays 9–6
Saturdays 9–3 - Languages
- English, Telugu, Hindi, Urdu
Arabic with Saba, our hygienist, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays
Vietnamese with Anh, our hygienist, Saturdays
Cantonese and Mandarin with Dr. Louie, our periodontist, on his scheduled days, by internal referral
Dental X-Rays and Imaging FAQs in Frisco, TX
Grouped so you can go straight to the one you came for.
Dental X-Rays and Imaging — common questions
Are dental X-rays safe?
How often do I need dental X-rays?
Can you check my teeth with no X-rays?
What is NIRI?
Are dental X-rays safe during pregnancy?
Why does someone stay beside me during X-rays?
How does AI help read my dental X-rays?
Can I get copies of my X-rays?
How much does a dental X-ray cost?
Do I really need a panoramic X-ray?
Can a dentist see an infection on an X-ray?
Where can I get dental X-rays near me in Frisco?
Toothache at 7am? You'll be seen today.
Same-day and Saturday appointments for toothaches, broken teeth, knocked-out teeth and lost crowns. Call us and we'll tell you what to do first, while you're still at home.
Everything else under this roof.
White Lotus Dental offers nine dental specialties inside one calm office on Custer Road. Having general dentists and an in-house periodontist on staff means your entire family can receive preventive, restorative, and surgical treatments in one familiar place.
Preventive Dentistry
Regular dental checkups, professional cleanings, night guards, and jaw-pain care. Every routine exam includes an oral cancer screening to protect your long-term health.
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Children's Dentistry
Gentle first dental visits, protective sealants, fluoride applications, and space maintainers. We accept Children's Medicaid and CHIP, and every young patient receives a toy-machine token at the end of their visit.
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Orthodontics
Clear aligners with Invisalign® and comprehensive traditional braces. Your treatment is fitted, monitored, and adjusted in-house by your trusted dentist.
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Missing Teeth
Permanent dental implants, dental bridges, and customized dentures planned using 3-D CBCT scans. Because our team includes a board-certified periodontist, your implant surgery, placement, and final crown are completed in the same building.
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Cosmetic Dentistry
Professional Zoom whitening, custom take-home whitening trays, and composite tooth bonding designed to brighten and refine your natural smile.
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Periodontics & Oral Surgery
Specialized gum disease therapy, scaling and root planing (deep cleanings), frenectomies, and periodontal surgery performed by our board-certified periodontist.
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Restorative Dentistry
Custom porcelain crowns, bridges, tooth-colored fillings, and full-mouth restorations crafted to match the natural look, feel, and function of your teeth.
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Sedation Dentistry
Relaxing dental care tailored to your comfort level. We offer nitrous oxide (laughing gas) for any routine clinic visit, as well as oral and IV sedation planned ahead with our periodontist.
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Emergency Dentistry
Toothaches, broken teeth, knocked-out teeth and lost crowns — seen the same day, Saturdays included.
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