A dental student or a dentist should eyeball the panoramic radiograph making sure that the occlusal plane has a slightly curved arc, similar width of ascending ramus on both sides and a similar level of ghost shadow of the mandibular angle..
Panoramic radiograph with color-coded overlay shows the spine (S, yellow areas), hyoid bone (purple areas), middle cranial fossa (MCF, green areas), nasal turbinates (NT, red area), coronoid process of mandible (Cor), mandibular condyle (Con), mandibular angle (Ang), mandibular canal (dotted line), inferior rim of the .
The panoramic image was divided into six anatomical zones for anatomical structure evaluation.
Nomenclature for each zone is defined as dentition (zone 1), nasal and sinus (zone 2), mandibular body (zone 3), temporal-mandibular joint (zone 4), ramus-spine (zone 5) and hyoid bone (zone 6).
Identification of anatomical landmarks on a panoramic radiograph: (1) pterygomaxillary fissure, (2) inferior border of orbit, (3) nasal septum, (4) zygomatic buttress of maxilla, (5) real image of the hard palate or floor of the nose, (6) ghost image of the hard palate, (7) posterior wall of maxillary sinus, (8) soft .
What is 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..
Principles of panoramic radiography
x-ray source rotate around the patient's head and in opposite direction to the rotation of image receptor and collimator.
Lead collimators in the shape of a slit, located at the x-ray source and at the image receptor, limit the central ray to a narrow vertical beam..
The panoramic X-ray provides the dentist with an ear-to-ear two-dimensional view of both the upper and lower jaw.
The most common uses for panoramic X-rays are to reveal the positioning of wisdom teeth and to check whether dental implants will affect the mandibular nerve (the nerve extending toward the lower lip)..
The first step in understanding panoramic anatomy is to appreciate the perspective from which each part of the image is presented
Because the image is captured by an X-ray tube which rotates around the patient’s head, rather than from a stationary source, this perspective changes from the posterior regions of the jaws to the anterior area
Panoramic dental x-ray uses a very small dose of ionizing radiation to capture the entire mouth in one image
It is commonly performed by dentists and oral surgeons in everyday practice and may be used to plan treatment for dentures, braces, extractions and implants
This exam requires little to no special preparation
With the panoramic perspective in mind, the osseous structures of the maxillofacial region can be reviewed
The structures around the posterior maxilla, which include the sphenoid, zygomatic and temporal bones, are likely the least familiar for many dental practitioners but contribute an important part of the panoramic image
