Anyone heard of this kind of x-ray? Went for a cleaning today and she asked if I wanted it. Says it's an x-ray where you stand up and I think it goes around your head. Wasn't sure if it was covered by insurance, so I didn't get it today, but will if anyone knows whether it's a good thing to have done. I still have two wisdom teeth that never came in and I am 47...might be why they brought it up. Says it checks for tumors and bones around the teeth not in.

Thanks for any info on the subject!
Debbie

Debbie I have had several panorex x-rays. One stands with chin resting on the indicated place, forehead against something else, and the machine slowly rotates around one's head. Must remove earrings and necklaces before. My insurance pays. The resulting x-ray shows the entire mouth. Very useful. Only takes a few seconds.

I just happened to be on the phone to my maxillofacial prosthodontist office while I was reading this and asked them what the Panorex film is used for in cancer screening. They said it shows up tumors that would otherwise be missed by a noranl dental xray. My insurance covers it, but it also treats it as a normal xray. I can only have 1 xray every 3 years regardless of type. Some insurance companies treat the panorex as a different type of xray so it doesn't affect your normal xray schedule. It is not to be used in place of normal xrays, but in addtion to. Cost is about $125.

Take care,
Eileen

I've had a couple of these done over the past few years. The most recent one was just a few weeks ago, for the purpose of checking the bone area around one of my wisdom teeth, which is showing some signs of degradation.

Cathy

A Panorex is a quick way of doing what they used to do with all the tiny little individual tooth radiographs. The advantage is that it shows the entire mouth in one film. The disadvantage is that if you only have a dental problem in one area, it exposes you to more radiation than a single 3 tooth x-ray would. Plus the new digital techologies which do not even use film, are 1/10th the amount of radiation. Also since this is a conventional x-ray/ radiograph is does not show soft tissues issues. It will show bone sarcomas and other hard tissue problems, but for soft tissues and most oral cancers it is useless.

Hi Debbie,

I had this type of xray taken before I had my prosthesis made and my insurance covered it. I did find it a little awkward since I still had my trach in but other than that it was quick and easy.

Nancy

Debbie,

I am a licensed dental hygienist and the recommendation is that you have a panorex or full mouth series of x-rays every three years. The panorex shows parts of your anatomy that are not seen on the standard intaoral full mouth series of x-rays. Most of the dental practices I train (probably over 100) alternate between a full mouth series of x-rays and a panorex every three years. Your insurance will likely pay for it, but you can call and ask them. The ADA code for a panorex is D0330, so give your insurance carrier a call and ask them about coverage.

hope this helps, Barb

Thanks everyone for all the great information!
God bless,
Debbie