What is a panorex x-ray? When is one recommended?
Submitted by Dr. Allison Long, Prairie Dental Group
A panorex x-ray captures the entire mouth and surrounding skeletal structures in one image. The process of taking a panorex, also known as a pan, is extremely easy and fast. In our office, we have a separate room with the panorex x-ray machine. Our patients stand in one place and the unit rotates around their head, taking roughly 20 seconds! A panorex does not show small details on teeth so we do not use it to diagnose cavities. Instead, we use them to aid with treatment planning or to see a broad area such as upper and lower jaw bone, temporomandibular joints (TMJs), and sinuses.
Typically, a patient is around 7 years old when we take their first pan. We use this pan to assess the patient’s developing permanent teeth and see if the patient has any missing or extra teeth. In the example panorex, you can see baby teeth with developing and erupted permanent teeth.
Once the patient is older, a pan is used to analyze the location of wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth are commonly located in areas that are difficult to x-ray with the traditional yearly x-rays. This is when a panoramic is useful! We can view all wisdom teeth in one image.
We welcome patients of all ages at Prairie Dental Group! If you have any questions or would like to schedule, please call us at 217-546-0412.
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