The pan will allow the dentists to safely plan for the extraction of any wisdom teeth that need to be extracted. The panoramic x-ray will show our dentists if you have any wisdom teeth as well as where they are located. Wisdom teeth are a common source of jaw pain. It allows the dentist to look at your jaw joint as well as evaluate your mouth for any lesions that may be the source of the pain. Follow up panoramic x-rays are often taken during and after orthodontic treatment to evaluate the progress and final result of the treatment.Īny patient who is having jaw pain should have a pan taken. It allows the dentist to see the position and location of your teeth as well as your roots. The pan allows the dentists coordinating the orthodontic treatment to properly plan the phases of treatment. Our dentists want to diagnose that early so we can make recommendations on if and when the wisdom teeth will need to be removed.įor any patient who is considering orthodontic treatment, a panoramic x-ray is needed for planning your treatment. Many people do not have the space in their mouth to allow the wisdom teeth to come in. Then around 18 years old, we will take another panoramic x-ray to look at the development of your child’s wisdom teeth. This allows our dentists to intervene early if they notice a problem with your child’s developing teeth. We routinely recommend children have a panoramic x-ray between ages 6 and 8 to check that all of their adult teeth are developing properly and in the right position. After that, and for all other patients in our office, we recommend a panoramic x-ray every 5-8 years, depending on your specific situation. This allows our dentists to have a baseline of your oral health to compare to in the future, and also allows them to diagnose many dental issues. We recommend that all of our new patients have a panoramic x-ray done, unless a recent one is available from your previous office. Let’s talk about specific reasons to take a panoramic x-ray. Martin will recommend certain x-rays for specific reasons and are more than happy to discuss this with you. Bitewings and periapicals will be recommended as well when necessary to check for cavities, bone levels or infections.

The detail in a panoramic x-ray is not as clear as a bitewing or periapical but is great for showing development, lesions and as an overall health screen. The panoramic x-ray shows all of the teeth in one x-ray. Periapical x-rays show the whole tooth, but only a few teeth are captured here. Periapical X-ray showing the whole tooth structure Bitewing X-ray to look for cavities and monitor bone levelsīitewing x-rays (the ones we take to check for cavities) only show half of each tooth. Regular intraoral x-rays (the ones you bite on) show 2-6 teeth, depending on the location and type of x-ray being taken.

How is that Different than a Regular X-ray? A panoramic x-ray is a great overall screen for the health of your mouth.

They can look at your jaw joint (TMJ) and the bones of your mouth. The dentists are able to see the location of major nerves, your sinuses, developing teeth and pathologies. What is a Panoramic X-ray?Ī panoramic x-ray, or pan, is an x-ray that shows the dentist your entire jaw, all of your teeth and the structures that surround them. How is that different than a regular x-ray?.Our dentists recommend that everyone have a panoramic x-ray taken every 5-8 years.

Panorama x ray