Dental pano anatomy

What is a Pano in dentistry?
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.
The jaw is a curved structure similar to that of a horseshoe..
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.
Orthopantomography, also known as an OPG X-ray (or simply OPG), panoramic radiography, or a pantogram is a type of X-ray scan that gives a panoramic or wide view of the lower face.
It can display all the teeth on both jaws on one film, including those that have not surfaced or erupted yet, such as wisdom teeth.

Anatomy of The Mandible

The mandibular condyle (brown highlight) will be seen as a rounded

Anatomy of The Maxilla

The maxillary sinuses (blue highlight) are seen as large, radiolucent areas above the maxillary dentition

Anatomy of The Nose

We can see the borders of the nasal cavity medial to the walls of the maxillary sinus. The nasal cavity itself is highlighted blue

Anatomy of The Midface

The orbital rim (red line) can often be seen as a thick, semi-circular, radiopaque line superior to the maxillary sinuses. Lateral to the maxillary sinuses

Other Anatomy

The external auditory meatus (red highlight) is seen as a round/ovoid radiolucent area lateral to the mandibular condyle and glenoid fossa

Useful Links & Recommended Reading

1. Essentials of Dental Radiography and Radiology 2