Is xray the only way to know if bones are fully healed?

No: Ct is better in selected cases but plain xrays, along with clinical assessment, remain the mainstay of diagnosis. Sometimes bone scan and MRI are used in this scenario but this is not common.

Not necessarily: While x-ray is the easiest and least expensive way to tell if a bone is healed, sometimes a nuclear medicine bone scan or MRI is needed to tell changes you cannot see on x-ray.