Any dentists around? Could you please tell me if I'm right? Xray

[iloveapplesandcakes]

Hi, I have a super sensitive tooth, my dentist believes it's receding gums.
When I magnify the xray I can see this little area where red arrow points. Is this decay which is causing the issue and not my gum? if yes, what can be done here? it's almost gum area

An x Ray is only a 2d representation of a 3 d object and is meaningless without an examination of the mouth as well as the full picture of the x Ray not just a close up.

The tooth you have highlighted has two roots and the area you have highlighted is most probably the dip between the two roots . It is probably below the gum line. However without looking at the tooth in your mouth and the whole x Ray on a proper screen designed to look at x rays there is nothing you can say for certain.

The problem tooth is in the middle of the photo and only has one root. It seems to me there is a loss of enamel near gum or just under

No it has two roots or one root divided in two .

There is no loss of enamel because enamel naturally stops above that level, enamel does not go all the way down .

I would guess this is a first upper premolar .

The problem is the orientation of the x Ray changes what you see. Which is why it is important to look at the x Ray as a whole not just a little chopped up bit , so you can interpret what you are seeing and differentiate normal anatomy, artefacts and superimposition . This tooth is slightly rotated on the x Ray so what you see has some superimposition on it that affects what you see both sides of the tooth.

The green arrows show where enamel is supposed to finish and the yellow circles show where , on both sides , there is shadowing where the two roots join the tooth .

You have got quite a bit of bone loss , particularly around the area you arrowed.

You cannot say there is decay on the basis of this bit of an x Ray , you cannot say there is not decay . You need to see the tooth and the whole x Ray on a proper screen set up with proper software for this x Ray.

If it is the tooth I think it is , this explains what that tooth looks like. You can only see one root from the x Ray view because one root is superimposed on the other .

There is a groove between the two roots which can, on a X-ray , look like decay .

I see, this makes sense, thank you so much @Lollygaggle !

One more question @Lollygaggle if I may - when you say bone loss, is this something which can be repaired? filling?

No fillings repair teeth not bones.

You have gum disease which has caused the bone to be lost from around the tooth . Once bone has gone , in general, it cannot be replaced. However by careful cleaning, particularly inbetween the teeth you can stop the damage getting any worse .

If you smoke or vape, stop . If you have diabetes get it under good control , have regular hygiene visits and follow th advice they give you.