Radiographs
Dental Radiographs are commonly called x-rays. Dentists use radiographs for many reasons: to find hidden dental structures, malignant or benign masses, bone loss, and cavities. A radiographic image is formed by a controlled burst of X-ray radiation which penetrates oral structures at different levels, depending on varying anatomical densities, before striking the film or sensor.
The periapical view is taken of both anterior and posterior teeth. The objective of this type of view is to capture the tip of the root on the film. This is often helpful in determining the cause of pain in a specific tooth, because it allows a dentist to visualize the tooth as well as the surrounding bone in their entirety.
The bitewing view is taken to visualize the crowns of the posterior teeth and the height of the alveolar bone in relation to the cementoenamel junctions, which are the demarcation lines on the teeth which separate tooth crown from tooth root. Routine bitewing radiographs are commonly used to examine for interdental caries and recurrent caries.
The occlusal view is indicated when there is a desire to reveal the skeletal or pathologic anatomy of either the floor of the mouth or the palate. The occlusal film, which is about three to four times the size of the film used to take a periapical or bitewing, is inserted into the mouth so as to entirely separate the maxillary and mandibular teeth.
A full mouth series is a complete set of intraoral X-rays taken of a patients’ teeth and adjacent hard tissue. This is often abbreviated as either FMS or FMX (or CMRS, meaning Complete Mouth Radiographic Series). The full mouth series is composed of 18 films, taken the same day.
