Assessing Growth and Development with Panoramic Radiographs and Cephalometric Attachments

Abstract

It is recommended that radiographs be made periodically both during the mixed dentition (8–9 years old) and adolescence (12–14 years old) to evaluate growth and development, and to look for asymptomatic dental disease [1–3]. Substantial differences in the assessed biological and the known chronological age can be indicators of a variety of inherited and congenital conditions. Further, local failure in dental eruption within the normal time range can be evidence of dental impaction and possibly of a pathological process such as a hamartoma, cyst, or tumor. Failure to remove causes of impaction prior to cessation of the normal eruption time can lead to otherwise unnecessary surgical orthodontics, a poorer outcome prognosis, and perhaps to a sequence of time consuming, expensive, and less than ideal replacement strategies [4]. The dental panoramic radiograph is a quick, simple, and relatively safe way to achieve the goal of evaluating the whole dentition in a manner that is easy to explain to the patient or concerned parent.