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Why would a dental office do a panoramic x-ray instead of the traditional full-mouth x-rays during an initial exam? What is the purpose of panoramic x-rays? What do you think about panoramic vs full mouth? Thanks.
Why would a dental office do a panoramic x-ray instead of the traditional full-mouth x-rays during an initial exam? What is the purpose of panoramic x-rays? What do you think about panoramic vs full mouth? Thanks.
By "full mouth x-ray" do you mean the set of multiple smaller images they get by inserting individual films inside your mouth? The extent of each of those views is limited and if the films don't overlap carefully, small areas could be missed. A panoramic view is more extensive, including your entire jaws, teeth and their roots, and more of your facial structure. The dentists I've gone to who took panoramics tended to do one at an initial visit, not every year/2 years. It can provide more of an overall picture of your dentition and what may be influencing it anatomically. Obviously, one of the traditional smaller x-rays would be used to detect decay or the condition of previous dental repair on an individual tooth and maybe its neighbor that could be affected by additional work on it. A panoramic isn't necessary for that. The amount of radiation exposure from dental x-rays is small, but why accumulate more than necessary?
Last edited by Parnassia; 03-25-2022 at 03:48 PM..
Also while a panoramic is more expensive than a full mouth set of x-rays, the panoramic is usually only done once every 3-5 years. So the cost is more for that one visit, but less overall since you don't get it every year or two like with the full set xray.
By "full mouth x-ray" do you mean the set of multiple smaller images they get by inserting individual films inside your mouth? The extent of each of those views is limited and if the films don't overlap carefully, small areas could be missed. A panoramic view is more extensive, including your entire jaws, teeth and their roots, and more of your facial structure. The dentists I've gone to who took panoramics tended to do one at an initial visit, not every year/2 years. It can provide more of an overall picture of your dentition and what may be influencing it anatomically. Obviously, one of the traditional smaller x-rays would be used to detect decay or the condition of previous dental repair on an individual tooth and maybe its neighbor that could be affected by additional work on it. A panoramic isn't necessary for that. The amount of radiation exposure from dental x-rays is small, but why accumulate more than necessary?
Thanks for your reply, and sorry for the delay. When I said full mouth, I mean the normal FMX like you describe. It seems there's a lot of contradictory info on panoramic xrays out there, but I found this one interesting:
I've read many like this link that state that they're used to plan treatment for dentures, braces, extractions and implants! I don't see why a dentist would need a panoramic initially unless they're trying to upsell you on things like implants, etc., and panoramic cost more than FMX and bite wings. https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/panoramic-xray
Also while a panoramic is more expensive than a full mouth set of x-rays, the panoramic is usually only done once every 3-5 years. So the cost is more for that one visit, but less overall since you don't get it every year or two like with the full set xray.
Thanks for your response. I read something earlier that panoramic should only be done on as needed basis. There's so much contradictory information out there about these and x-rays in general that my head hurts.
Thanks for your reply, and sorry for the delay. When I said full mouth, I mean the normal FMX like you describe. It seems there's a lot of contradictory info on panoramic xrays out there, but I found this one interesting:
I've read many like this link that state that they're used to plan treatment for dentures, braces, extractions and implants! I don't see why a dentist would need a panoramic initially unless they're trying to upsell you on things like implants, etc., and panoramic cost more than FMX and bite wings. https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/panoramic-xray
After a quick look inside my mouth on my first visit to their practices, both my recent dentists (who I went to for at least 10 years) did a panoramic. Because my penny pincher father refused corrective braces for me as a kid (her smile looks fine to me!), my bite ended up being rather complicated. I've lived with the result most of my adult life; TMJ, bruxism and the resulting tooth damage. The panoramic provided good baseline information and helped them design protective night guards that relieved my TMJ and grinding/clenching. After that initial view, they did bite wings as necessary over subsequent years. No one has ever tried to upsell me anything.
Thanks for your response. I read something earlier that panoramic should only be done on as needed basis. There's so much contradictory information out there about these and x-rays in general that my head hurts.
Stop reading stuff on the internet and assuming it's true (or false!). If you aren't an actual researcher, or know how to comprehend peer-reviewed double-blind trials, then you're just doing yourself a huge disservice.
There have been conspiracies and scaremongering with regards to xrays since they were first used. At first, the amount of radiation was fairly significant. Science and technology has come a long way since then. Xrays now are safe - though some areas of the body are more vulnerable than others. That's why, when you get a mouth x-ray, your neck and chest are covered with a heavy draping shield. It prevents the rays from penetrating through to the thyroid. If you're a woman of childbearing years they'll also use a full-torso drape to protect the womb, for the same reason.
Panoramic xrays serve a specific function in dentistry, and are not "better" than regular x-rays, nor worse. If you get headaches, or have frequent sinus trouble, or poor occlusion (top and bottom teeth don't "fit" properly when you close your mouth), a panoramic will show MUCH more clearly what's going on, than a full mouth xray. On the other hand, if the ONLY thing your dentist is concerned about is the teeth, and not the jaw or sinuses or bone or mandible, then a full mouth xray will provide sharper pictures than the panoramic.
But that's a good reason to get a panoramic once every few years, and bitewings every year.
Had a panoramic done last year by new dentist. Did not upsell me anything. I actually did not have to pay for it either. It was on my bill and then it was a write off. It was well done. I think they did it because they did the full exam after all the x-rays. I think they simply have it on file.
If you get headaches, or have frequent sinus trouble, or poor occlusion (top and bottom teeth don't "fit" properly when you close your mouth), a panoramic will show MUCH more clearly what's going on, than a full mouth xray. On the other hand, if the ONLY thing your dentist is concerned about is the teeth, and not the jaw or sinuses or bone or mandible, then a full mouth xray will provide sharper pictures than the panoramic.
Thank you for your most recent feedback, which I somehow missed before. I'm pretty sure this dentist initially does panoramics only as a standard practice. I don't usually get headaches or have sinus trouble or poor occlusion. It's interesting what you state in your second sentence, though. At first they were just going to do the panoramic, but I insisted on the bitewings and FMX since they were charging me $200.00 regardless, and I figured I'd have them when I go to the next dentist! When I went back for a consultation a week later, he scared me to death and showed me on the panormic that I could possibly have oral cancer, which didn't make sense due to my lifestyle. Based on the panoramic only, he said "there is an abnormal, large radiolucent lesion in the anterior mandible" and suggested I have an expensive $450.00 CT scan at his office or to go to an expensive oral surgeon. I recently had a CT scan done at an imaging center so my health insurance would cover a lot of it. My co-insurance was around $39.00.
Thankfully, the radiologist's report states "There is no evidence of lytic lesion involving the mandible." However, I am concerned about other things on that report, which appears to be a result of that #18 crown that fell off, and this dentist caused me further delay with that because he stressed I needed to have this lesion evaluated as soon as possible and that needed to be a priority!
Had a panoramic done last year by new dentist. Did not upsell me anything. I actually did not have to pay for it either. It was on my bill and then it was a write off. It was well done. I think they did it because they did the full exam after all the x-rays. I think they simply have it on file.
Thanks. You're very lucky that your dentist didn't try to upsell you anything. Upselling around here seems to be the norm instead of the exception. I believe it's because I'm in an area of FL where the majority of the population is elderly, and they're too old, sick or tired to question anything that these dentists say or do. These elderly people just let the dentists do whatever they want, and I believe what dentists are doing is elder abuse, but, of course, someone like me is suffering from it, too.
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