Technology and Imaging
Bitewing X-ray
A bitewing X-ray shows the upper and lower back teeth together from the crown to the bone level. Dentists use it mostly to look for cavities between teeth.
For a bitewing X-ray, you bite down on a small tab that holds the sensor in place. The image shows the crown portions of the upper and lower teeth together. Dentists often use bitewings to look for early cavities between teeth, where a visual exam cannot see.
The FDA's guidance on selecting patients lists posterior bitewings as part of individual exams, sometimes with a panoramic image or selected periapical images. How often you need them depends on your age, your history of cavities, and your risk. Not every visit needs X-rays.
See digital X-ray and caries detection. A dental exam is where your dentist decides which images you need.