Normally, the person bites on a plastic spatula so that all the teeth, especially the crowns, can be viewed individually. The whole orthopantomogram process takes about one minute. The patient's actual radiation exposure time varies between 5.5 and 22 seconds for the machine’s excursion around the skull. The collimation of the machine means that, while rotating, the X-rays project only a limited portion of the anatomy onto the film at any given instant but, as the rotation progresses around the skull, a composite picture of the maxillo-facial block is created. While the arm rotates, the film moves in a such way that the projected partial skull image (limited by the beam section) scrolls over it and exposes it entirely. Not all of the overlapping individual images projected on the film have the same magnification because the beam is divergent and the images have differing focus points. Also not all the element images move with the same velocity on the target film as some of them are more distant from and others closer to the instant rotation center. The velocity of the film is controlled in such fashion to fit exactly the velocity of projection of the anatomical elements of the dental arch side which is closest to the film. Therefore, they are recorded sharply while the elements in different places are recorded blurred as they scroll at different velocity. The dental<unk>  image suffers from important distortions because a vertical zoom and a horizontal zoom both vary differently along the image. The vertical and horizontal zooms are determined by the relative position of the recorded element versus film and generator. Features closer to the generator receive more vertical zoom. The horizontal zoom is also dependent on the relative position of the element to the focal path. Features inside the focal path arch receive more horizontal zoom and are blurred; features outside receive less horizontal zoom and are blurred. The result is an image showing sharply the section along the mandible arch, and blurred elsewhere. For example, the more radio-opaque anatomical region, the cervical vertebrae (neck), shows as a wide and blurred vertical pillar overlapping the front teeth. The path where the anatomical elements are recorded sharply is called "focal path". Principal advantage of<unk>  images * Broad coverage of facial bone and teeth * Low patient radiation dose * Convenience of examination for the patient (films need not be placed inside the mouth) * Ability to be used in patients who cannot open the mouth or when the opening is restricted e.g.: due to trismus * Short time required for making the image * Patient's ready understandability of<unk>  films, making them a useful visual aid in patient education and case presentation. * Easy to store compared to the large set of intra oral x-rays which are typically used.
Panoramic radiograph
Autoradiograph
Xeroradiography
Focal plane tomography
Projectional radiography
Digital radiography
Photofluorography
Tractography