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Dentistry vocabulary · Examination and X-rays

panoramic X-ray

Meaning in dentistry, with examples

nounCommon term

In dentistry, panoramic X-ray means: A single wide X-ray that shows both jaws, all the teeth and nearby structures such as the jaw joints and sinuses. The machine moves around the patient's head.

In Turkish: panoramik röntgen, panoramik film, OPG

How it is used

Called an OPG or OPT (orthopantomogram) in the UK and often a 'pano' in the US. Used for wisdom teeth, orthodontic planning, first visits and screening the jaws; it shows less detail than intraoral X-rays.

Example sentences

  1. We'll take a panoramic X-ray to see the position of your wisdom teeth.

  2. The panoramic X-ray showed a cyst in the left side of the mandible.

Common collocations

  • take a panoramic X-ray
  • panoramic radiograph
  • OPG
  • on the panoramic X-ray
  • X-rayAn image of the teeth and bone made with a small dose of radiation. It shows problems the eye cannot see, such as decay between teeth, infection at a root tip or bone loss.
  • CBCTShort for cone beam computed tomography: a 3D scan of the teeth and jaws that shows bone height and width, nerve canals and roots in detail.
  • wisdom toothThe third and last molar at the back of each side of both jaws. It usually comes through between the late teens and the mid-twenties and often lacks space to erupt properly.
  • mandibleThe lower jaw bone. It holds the lower teeth, moves at the jaw joints, and contains the canal of the nerve that supplies feeling to the lower teeth and lip.

More terms: Examination and X-rays

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