Relative discernment of lesions by intraoral and panoramic radiography.

Panoramic and intraoral periapical radiographs were compared for their demonstration of pathologic conditions in patients seeking general dental care. Panoramic views allowed additional detection of noteworthy lesions that were not detected by intraoral survey in 5.3% of the cases reviewed, with only 0.1% or one patient in 1,000 possibly requiring treatment. The paucity and lack of urgency of the pathologic conditions discovered solely by panoramic radiography suggest that the expectation of a high incidence of detection of such conditions cannot be used as the sole rationale for the routine use of this procedure as an adjunct to the intraoral survey.