Interesting, my dad (recently retired ophthamologist - practiced GP for 8 or
9 years first - back when a GP did it all) had a PX done at his last
checkup.  He related that he thought that it is a valued procedure since
nobody else screens this part of the body for things that can go awry.

So there

carabelli

===============

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6620610/

http://www.radiologicinfo.com

===

While radiographs are not necessary every 6 months, a certain minimum is
necessary to detect any possible underlying conditions that are not present
in
a clinical  visual examination.  I usually take a full series or panoramic
on
my patients every 5 to 6 years depending on their oral condition (ie minimal
work, lower frequency), and bite-wing radiographs every 2 years ...

David Dodell, DMD

    Joel_Eichen   Dec 30 2000, 3:38 pm     show options

           Newsgroups: sci.med.dentistry
           From: "Joel_Eichen" <joel_eic...@excite.com> - Find messages by
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           Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2000 18:35:52 -0500
           Local: Sat, Dec 30 2000 3:35 pm
           Subject: Dr. Jerome and Dr. Clark -- dental advice
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     Hulda Clark, Ph.D., N.D., talks with Frank Jerome, D.D.S. about
cleaning up
     your dentalware

     NOTE: as of 1998, Clark has changed her mind about some of the
     recommendations she has made in this article and other works. Please
     remember this if you wish to use any of her suggestions.
     Frank Jerome: The philosophy of dental treatment taught in America is
that
     teeth are to be saved by whatever means available, using the
strongest, most
     long lasting material. Long-term toxic effects are of little concern.
The
     attitude of the majority of dentists is they will do whatever the ADA
says
     is okay.
     A more reasonable philosophy is that there is no tooth worth saving if
it
     damages your immune system. Use this as your guideline.

     The reason dentists do not see toxic results is that they do not look
or
     ask. If a patient has three mercury fillings placed in the mouth and a
week
     later has a kidney problem, will she call the dentist -- or the
doctor? Will
     she ever tell the dentist about the kidney problem or tell the doctor
about
     the three fillings? A connection will never be made.

     It is common for patients who have had their metal fillings removed to
have
     various symptoms go away but, again, they do not tell the dentist. The
     patients have to be asked! Once patients begin to feel well they take
it for
     granted, and don't make the connection, either. If everybody's results
were
     instantaneous, there would be no controversy.

     Find an alternative dentist. They have been leading the movement to
ban
     mercury from dental supplies. Not only mercury, but all metal needs to
be
     banned. If your dentist will not follow the necessary procedures, then
you
     must find one what will. The questions to ask when you phone a new
dental
     office are:

     Do you place mercury fillings? (The correct answer is "No." If they
do, they
     don't have enough experience in the use of non-metal composites.)
     Do you do root canals? (The correct answer is "No. If they do, they do
not
     understand good alternative dentistry. [Publisher: Please see "Root
canal
     therapy" on Page 6]
     Do you remove amalgam tattoos? (The correct answer is "Yes. Tattoos
are
     pieces of mercury left in the gum tissue.)
     Do you treat cavitations? (The correct answer is "Yes." By cleaning
them.)
     The complete name of cavitations is Alveolar cavitational
osteopathosis.
     They are holes (cavities) left in the jawbone by an incompletely
extracted
     tooth. A properly cleaned socket which is left after an extraction
will heal
     and fill with bone. Dentists routinely do not clean the socket of
tissue
     remnants or infected bone. A dry socket (really an infected socket) is
a
     common result.
     These sockets are never fully healthy. Thirty years after an
extraction, a
     cavitation will still be there. It is a form of osteomyelitis, which
means
     bone infection.

     Ninety percent or more of dental offices will not be able to answer
any of
     the above questions correctly. If you allow the work to be done by a
dentist
     who does not understand the importance of the above list, you could
end up
     with new problems. Find the right dentist first even if you must
travel
     hundreds of miles. Dentists are not equal. You can find a dentist in
your
     area by calling the Huggins Diagnostic Clinic [and others listed below
in
     "Resources"].

     Huggins has 6,000 to 10,000 dentists who should be able to help. Some
can do
     part of the work and refer you to a specialist for the rest. Five
hundred to
     one thousand of these dentists can do it all.

     Normal treatment cost is about $1,000 for replacement of 6 to 8 metal
     fillings, including the examination and x-rays. For people with a
metal
     filling in every tooth, or for the extraction of all teeth (plus
dentures),
     it may be up to $3,000 (or more in some places).

     Remember, the simpler treatment, the better. If the dentist says that
he or
     she can change your metal fillings to plastic but it would be better
to
     crown them, say "No!"

     Guidelines for a Healthy Mouth
          If you have:             What to do:

          Metal fillings           change to plastic fillings
          Inlays and onlays        change to plastic fillings
          Crowns (all types)       change to plastic crowns
          Bridges                  change to plastic crowns, partials
          Metal partials           change to plastic partials
                                                       (FlexiteTM)
          Pink dentures            change to clear plastic
          Porcelain denture        change to plastic denture
          Badly damaged teeth      become extractions
          Root canals              become extractions
          Braces and implants avoid
          Cavitations              need to be surgically cleaned
          Temporary crowns         use plastic
          Temporary fillings       use DuralonTM)

     See Materials reactivity testing, which has a different approach to
safe
     dental materials.

     The guidelines can be summarized as:
     Removal all metal from the mouth.
     Removal all infected teeth and clean cavitations.
     Hulda Clark: Removing all metal means removing all root canals, metal
     fillings and crowns. Take out all bridge work or partials made of
metal and
     never put them back in. But you may feel quite attached to the gold,
so ask
     the dentist to give you everything she or he removes. Look at the
underside.
     You will be glad you switched.
     The top surfaces of tooth fillings are kept glossy by brushing. (You
swallow
     some of what is removed.) Underneath is tarnish and foulness. Ask to
see
     your crowns when they are removed.

     The stench of the infection under some teeth may be overwhelming as
they are
     pulled. Bad breath in the morning is due to such hidden tooth
infections,
     not a deficiency of mouthwash!

     All metal must come out, no matter how glossy it looks on the surface.
Metal
     does not belong in your body. It is an unnatural chemical. Do this as
soon
     as you have found a dentist able to do it. Find a dentist with
experience
     and knowledge about this subject. It is more than replacing
acknowledged
     culprits like mercury-amalgam fillings. This is metal-free dentistry.
ONLY
     METAL-FREE PLASTIC SHOULD BE PUT BACK IN YOUR MOUTH. [Publisher: See
note to
      "Guidelines" above regarding alternatives.]

     Jerome: If your dentist tells you that mercury and other metals will
not
     cause any problems, you will not be able to change his or her mind.
SEEK
     TREATMENT ELSEWHERE.

     =========

     Your dentist should do a complete x-ray examination of your mouth. Ask
for
     the panoramic x-ray rather than the usual series of 24 small x-rays
(called
     "full mouth series"). The panoramic x-ray shows the whole mouth
including
     the jaws and the sinuses. This lets the dentist see impacted teeth,
root
     fragments, bits of mercury buried in the bone and deep infections.
     Cavitations are visible in a panoramic x-ray that may not be seen in a
full
     mouth series.

=====

Let me first give some information as to the full mouth series.  It is our
duty as practitioners to diagnose all conditions of your mouth.  A full
series of radiographs, in connjunction with a thorough health history and
a complete clinical examination, is the only way for us to be able to
accomplish this task.  You would not want to begin having symptoms next
week for a problem that we could have diagnosed today, so we are as
thorough as is feasible.  The full series of radiographs allow us to view
all areas around the teeth for possible pathology.
===================

don't believe that this is standard of care. Bitewings (2 films) and
one orthopantomogram (=panoramic, x-rays like for one usual film) are
the actual recommendations.
A full mouth status cannot fully replace bitewings because of slightly
different direction of x-rays.

I found the following table:

No clinical caries, history of fluoridation       Panoramic only

Clinical caries and/or restorations present       Panoramic plus
                                                 posterior bitewings

Deep clinical caries                              Panoramic, posterior
                                                 bitewings, periapicals
                                                 of affected teeth

Periodontal involvement                           Panoramic, posterior
                                                 bitewings, periapicals of
                                                 affected teeth

From: The selection of patients for x-ray examination: dental
radiographic examination. Pub No FDA 88-8273, Rockville, Md, 1987, US
Food and Drug Administration

     Dental Problems

     ... Even dental gold can be a problem because to make it cheaper it is
commonly blended ...
     This may be discovered by an experienced dentist with panoramic
X-rays.

... the usual series of 14 to 16 small X-rays (called full ... Cavitations
are visible in
a panoramic X-ray that may not ... When you do a lot of dental repair in a
short ...

Pans (Panorex, panogram) are excellent for screening, say wisdom
teeth, developmental cysts, and periodontal disease while periapical
films are my choice for definitive treatment.

Joel