What is a panoramic x-ray?
Panoramic radiography, also called panoramic x-ray, is a two-dimensional (2-D) dental x-ray examination that captures the entire mouth in a single image, including the teeth, upper and lower jaws, surrounding structures and tissues.
They are good at finding larger concerns like infections, impacted teeth, tumors, degenerative joint disease and cysts. The x-ray machine will rotate in a semicircle around your head, allowing us to get a comprehensive picture of your entire mouth and jaw. The entire process is quick, easy and completely painless, lasting about 30 seconds.
Do panoramic x-rays have a lot of radiation?
A panoramic x-ray does use more radiation than a set of bitewings, but is still only about 0.01 mSv. Another interesting comparison point to note is that you receive more cosmic radiation if you live at a higher elevation, because the atmosphere is thinner there and doesn't filter it out as well
