Dental X-rays and Diagnostics in English: From Bitewing to Diagnosis

X-ray is both the radiation and the everyday word for the image. Clinically the image is a radiograph, the method is radiography, and film means only the physical medium — which a digital practice no longer has.

This list covers 71 terms: radiograph types, equipment and positioning, exposure errors, interpretation, chairside tests and how a diagnosis is worded.

Who this is for

  • Students — radiology and diagnosis in English
  • Clinicians — requesting imaging and reporting a radiograph
  • Patients — understanding which image has been ordered and why

Word list to learn

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Word
radiograph ˈreɪdiəʊɡrɑːf
dental X-ray ˈdentəl ˈeks reɪ
X-ray ˈeks reɪ
intraoral radiograph ˌɪntrəˈɔːrəl ˈreɪdiəʊɡrɑːf
extraoral radiograph ˌekstrəˈɔːrəl ˈreɪdiəʊɡrɑːf
periapical radiograph ˌperiˈæpɪkəl ˈreɪdiəʊɡrɑːf
bitewing radiograph ˈbaɪtwɪŋ ˈreɪdiəʊɡrɑːf
occlusal radiograph əˈkluːzəl ˈreɪdiəʊɡrɑːf
panoramic radiograph ˌpænəˈræmɪk ˈreɪdiəʊɡrɑːf
orthopantomogram ˌɔːθəʊˈpæntəməɡræm
cephalometric radiograph ˌsefələˈmetrɪk ˈreɪdiəʊɡrɑːf
cone beam computed tomography kəʊn biːm kəmˈpjuːtɪd təˈmɒɡrəfi
CBCT scan ˌsiːbiːsiːˈtiː skæn
full mouth series fʊl maʊθ ˈsɪəriːz
digital radiography ˈdɪdʒɪtəl ˌreɪdiˈɒɡrəfi
conventional radiography kənˈvenʃənəl ˌreɪdiˈɒɡrəfi
X-ray sensor ˈeks reɪ ˈsensə
phosphor plate ˈfɒsfə pleɪt
X-ray film ˈeks reɪ fɪlm
film holder fɪlm ˈhəʊldə
positioning device pəˈzɪʃənɪŋ dɪˈvaɪs
bite tab baɪt tæb
X-ray tube ˈeks reɪ tjuːb
collimator ˈkɒlɪmeɪtə
exposure ɪkˈspəʊʒə
exposure time ɪkˈspəʊʒə taɪm
kilovoltage ˈkɪləʊvəʊltɪdʒ
paralleling technique ˈpærəlelɪŋ tekˈniːk
bisecting angle technique baɪˈsektɪŋ ˈæŋɡəl tekˈniːk
radiation dose ˌreɪdiˈeɪʃən dəʊs
lead apron led ˈeɪprən
thyroid collar ˈθaɪrɔɪd ˈkɒlə
radiolucent ˌreɪdiəʊˈluːsənt
radiopaque ˌreɪdiəʊˈpeɪk
radiolucency ˌreɪdiəʊˈluːsənsi
periapical radiolucency ˌperiˈæpɪkəl ˌreɪdiəʊˈluːsənsi
bone level bəʊn ˈlevəl
lamina dura ˈlæmɪnə ˈdjʊərə
artifact ˈɑːtɪfækt
elongation ˌiːlɒŋˈɡeɪʃən
foreshortening fɔːˈʃɔːtənɪŋ
cone cut kəʊn kʌt
overlapping contacts ˌəʊvəˈlæpɪŋ ˈkɒntækts
blurred image blɜːd ˈɪmɪdʒ
clinical examination ˈklɪnɪkəl ɪɡˌzæmɪˈneɪʃən
visual examination ˈvɪʒuəl ɪɡˌzæmɪˈneɪʃən
extraoral examination ˌekstrəˈɔːrəl ɪɡˌzæmɪˈneɪʃən
intraoral examination ˌɪntrəˈɔːrəl ɪɡˌzæmɪˈneɪʃən
palpation pælˈpeɪʃən
percussion test pəˈkʌʃən test
mobility test məʊˈbɪləti test
probing ˈprəʊbɪŋ
vitality test vaɪˈtæləti test
pulp sensibility test pʌlp ˌsensəˈbɪləti test
cold test kəʊld test
heat test hiːt test
electric pulp test ɪˈlektrɪk pʌlp test
transillumination ˌtrænzɪˌluːmɪˈneɪʃən
bite test baɪt test
caries detector ˈkeəriːz dɪˈtektə
intraoral camera ˌɪntrəˈɔːrəl ˈkæmərə
clinical photograph ˈklɪnɪkəl ˈfəʊtəɡrɑːf
study model ˈstʌdi ˈmɒdəl
diagnostic cast ˌdaɪəɡˈnɒstɪk kɑːst
dental charting ˈdentəl ˈtʃɑːtɪŋ
periodontal charting ˌperiəˈdɒntəl ˈtʃɑːtɪŋ
diagnosis ˌdaɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs
differential diagnosis ˌdɪfəˈrenʃəl ˌdaɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs
provisional diagnosis prəˈvɪʒənəl ˌdaɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs
prognosis prɒɡˈnəʊsɪs
biopsy ˈbaɪɒpsi

Useful phrases

Click the icon to hear the pronunciation

Phrase
We need to take an X-ray to see what's happening under the gum.
Is the X-ray safe? I'm pregnant.
The dose is very low, but we'll postpone it if we can.
Bite gently on this tab and hold still.
This is a panoramic X-ray — it shows both jaws at once.
Hold your breath for a moment.
When did you last have X-rays taken?
Can you send my records to another dentist?
The X-ray shows decay between these two teeth.
There's a dark area at the root tip — that's an infection.
I can't see anything wrong on the surface, so let's test the nerve.
Does this tooth react to cold?
Tell me when you feel it, and again when it stops.
Everything looks healthy — see you in six months.

Dental X-Rays: Why They're Needed and How Safe They Are

Click the speaker icon to hear the full dialogue

Dentist
Before I chart anything, I'd like two bitewing radiographs.
Patient
I had X-rays two years ago. Do I need more?
Dentist
Bitewings are usually repeated every two years for low-risk patients. They show decay between the teeth and the bone level — things I can't see by looking.
Patient
I'm worried about the radiation.
Dentist
A digital bitewing is roughly the dose you get from one day of natural background radiation. Digital radiography needs far less exposure than film did.
Patient
Do I still need the lead apron?
Dentist
With modern collimation the apron is optional, but I'll use a thyroid collar for you — it costs nothing and it's sensible.
Patient
What about that big machine in the corner?
Dentist
That's for a panoramic radiograph — one image of both jaws. I'd only take one to assess wisdom teeth or the joints.
Patient
This upper tooth has been aching.
Dentist
Then I'll add a periapical radiograph of that one and run some tests. This is cold — tell me when you feel it, and when it stops.
Patient
I feel it... and it's still going after you took it away.
Dentist
That's a lingering response. It suggests the pulp is inflamed rather than simply sensitive.
Patient
Does the X-ray show that?
Dentist
Not directly. Pulp inflammation is a clinical diagnosis. What the film shows is whether there's a periapical radiolucency — a dark area at the root tip where bone has been lost.
Patient
And is there?
Dentist
A small one. Combined with the cold test, that gives me a diagnosis rather than a guess.
Patient
So both the tests and the X-ray are needed?
Dentist
Always. A radiograph without a clinical examination is just a picture.

Common mistakes

Avoid these common mistakes

Wrong Please put the radiography on the screen.
Correct Please put the radiograph on the screen.

Three related words, three jobs. A radiograph is the image itself — the radiograph shows bone loss. Radiography is the technique of producing images: digital radiography, intraoral radiography, panoramic radiography. Radiology is the discipline, practised by a radiologist, or an oral radiologist in dentistry. The trap is that Spanish radiografía, French radiographie and Portuguese radiografia all name the image, so speakers transfer the -graphy form directly. Informally, English also allows X-ray for the image, and film where physical film is still used.

Wrong We will make an X-ray of the lower left quadrant.
Correct We will take an X-ray of the lower left quadrant.

The verb is take: take an X-ray, take a radiograph, take two bitewings. Make an X-ray is a calque from German machen, Spanish hacer, French faire and Russian сделать. The same verb governs neighbouring procedures — take an impression, take a photograph, take a history, take a scan. Once produced, the image shows or reveals the finding, and the clinician reports on it. Where film is processed, the verb is develop.

Wrong The metal post appears radiolucent, so it is bright white on the image.
Correct The metal post appears radiopaque, so it is bright white on the image.

These are constantly reversed, and radiographic interpretation depends on getting them right. Radiolucent means X-rays pass through, so the area appears dark — caries, a periapical lesion, the pulp chamber. Radiopaque means they are absorbed, so the area appears light or white — enamel, metal, amalgam, gutta-percha. This is why restorative materials are formulated to be radiopaque: a radiolucent filling could not be distinguished from recurrent caries. The nouns are radiolucency and radiopacity.

Wrong Based on these findings I would put the diagnosis of irreversible pulpitis.
Correct Based on these findings I would make a diagnosis of irreversible pulpitis.

You make a diagnosis, reach one, or arrive at one; you can also simply diagnose the condition. Put a diagnosis is a calque from German eine Diagnose stellen, French poser un diagnostic, Russian поставить диагноз and Polish postawić diagnozę. Watch the pattern with the verb: you diagnose a condition, but a patient is diagnosed with it. The surrounding vocabulary is differential diagnosis, provisional diagnosis, rule out, confirm and prognosis.

Wrong The anamnesis revealed that the patient takes warfarin.
Correct The medical history revealed that the patient takes warfarin.

Anamnesis exists in English but is rare, formal and largely confined to older or translated texts; it also carries a separate philosophical sense. The everyday clinical word is history: medical history, dental history, social history, family history. The process is history taking and the verb is take a history. Around it sit the presenting complaint, the history of presenting complaint, the medical history form completed at reception, and the medical alert flagged for something like warfarin.

About This List

X-ray, radiograph, film: three words, one object

  • X-ray — the radiation, and colloquially the image: I need an X-ray
  • radiograph — the clinical name for the image, and what appears in records
  • radiography — the technique: digital or conventional radiography
  • film — the physical medium, replaced in digital practice by a sensor or phosphor plate

People take an X-ray; protocols expose a radiograph. The first is understood everywhere, the second expected in writing.

Four kinds of image and what each shows

  • periapical radiograph — the whole tooth including the root apex and surrounding bone; the workhorse of endodontics
  • bitewing radiograph — crowns of upper and lower teeth only; the best view for interproximal caries
  • panoramic radiograph, also an orthopantomogram — both jaws in one image, for an overview
  • cone beam computed tomography — a three-dimensional CBCT scan, for implant planning and complex endodontics

Plus the occlusal radiograph, the cephalometric radiograph for orthodontics, and a full mouth series. The overall split is intraoral against extraoral radiograph.

Equipment and positioning: X-ray tube, collimator, film holder, positioning device, bite tab, with a lead apron and thyroid collar for protection. Parameters: exposure, exposure time, kilovoltage, radiation dose. Techniques: paralleling and bisecting angle technique.

Errors are named by what they look like: elongation, foreshortening, cone cut, overlapping contacts, blurred image, artifact.

Radiolucent and radiopaque: how an image is read

Two words describing how the image looks, not how rays behave:

  • radiolucent — dark on the radiograph: caries, bone loss, a cyst, a periapical radiolucency
  • radiopaque — light: enamel, restorations, calculus, metal

The rest of a report: bone level, lamina dura — the cortical plate around a root — and radiolucency as the general word for a lesion.

Chairside tests

A radiograph does not diagnose on its own. Alongside it run the clinical tests:

  • clinical examination, visual examination, extraoral and intraoral examination
  • palpation, percussion test, mobility test, probing
  • vitality test and pulp sensibility test: cold test, heat test, electric pulp test
  • transillumination for cracks, bite test, caries detector

Records: intraoral camera, clinical photograph, study model, diagnostic cast, dental charting, periodontal charting. The conclusion: diagnosis, differential diagnosis, provisional diagnosis, prognosis, and where needed a biopsy.

Reading the words themselves

  • Lucent means letting rays through, opaque means stopping them — learn the roots and you never reverse the pair
  • Bitewing is named for the tab the patient bites, not for any wing-shaped anatomy
  • Cone cut is a clipped corner where the beam missed the sensor, nothing to do with cones of teeth
  • Foreshortening and elongation are opposite vertical-angle errors — too steep and too shallow
  • Artifact is spelled artefact in British usage and means any feature not present in the patient
  • Orthopantomogram is abbreviated OPG in the UK and OPT elsewhere, both for the same panoramic image

Frequently Asked Questions

A radiograph is the image. Radiography is the technique — digital radiography, intraoral radiography, panoramic radiography. Radiology is the discipline, practised by a radiologist or, in dentistry, an oral radiologist. Informally the image is also an X-ray, or a film where physical film is used. Speakers of Romance languages routinely transfer the -graphy form, since in those languages it names the image.

You take one: take an X-ray, take a radiograph, take two bitewings. Make is a calque from several European languages. The same verb runs through neighbouring procedures — take an impression, take a photograph, take a history, take a scan. Afterwards the image shows or reveals the finding, and the clinician reports on it; film is developed.

Radiolucent structures let X-rays through and appear dark: caries, a periapical lesion, the pulp chamber. Radiopaque structures absorb them and appear light: enamel, metal, amalgam, gutta-percha. This is precisely why restorative materials are made radiopaque — a radiolucent filling would be indistinguishable from recurrent caries on the image. The nouns are radiolucency and radiopacity.

You make, reach or arrive at a diagnosis, or simply diagnose the condition. Put a diagnosis is a calque from German, French, Russian and Polish. Note the verb pattern: you diagnose a condition, but a patient is diagnosed with it. Around it sit differential diagnosis, provisional diagnosis, rule out, confirm and prognosis.

Rarely. Anamnesis exists but is formal, dated in clinical use, and carries an unrelated philosophical sense. English says history — medical history, dental history, social history, family history — with history taking as the process and take a history as the verb. The consultation opens with the presenting complaint and the history of presenting complaint.

A bitewing shows the crowns of upper and lower teeth together and is the standard view for interproximal caries and bone levels. A periapical shows a whole tooth including the apex and surrounding bone, which is what endodontics requires. A panoramic radiograph, or orthopantomogram, covers both jaws in one image with lower detail — good for an overview, third molars and pathology, poor for early caries.

Cone beam computed tomography produces a three-dimensional volume. It is indicated where two dimensions are insufficient: implant planning, assessing an impacted tooth against the inferior alveolar canal, complex endodontics, and sinus or bone pathology. The dose is higher than a conventional radiograph, so the indication must justify it. Related specialised views are the cephalometric radiograph and the occlusal radiograph.

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