My dentist wants me to have a panoramic x-ray! A What?
Dental tourism patients are often unaware of the importance
of having a strange new (since 1985) x-ray casually referred by dentists as a
pano. It's best to get one before you leave on your dental vacation.
Panoramic
radiographs (aka tomographic x-ray) show an ear to ear 180 degree
view of the patient’s jaws and all the teeth as well as much of the head
and neck anatomy.
The
machine used is different than the standard x-ray unit as the patient
generally stands while the x-ray unit travels on a semi-circular track
around the patient’s head.
A
pano will show in greater detail impacted wisdom teeth, bone loss,
often sources of dental pain in temporomandibular disorder (tmj), dental
implant, oral trauma and orthodontic assessments.
The
image quality is vastly superior to conventional film-based systems and
of great importance to oral surgeons and maxillofacial specialists in
assessing a patient’s suitability for conventional, mini dental
implants, or other procedures. Cone 3D Technology is a new advancement
to digital pano devices.
Get
a pano from a specialist at home in advance or have one made in your
dental vacation destination (assuming you are not going to Timbuktu).
The costs will range from $150us to $300 in the US, Canada or Australia
vs. $30 to $65 by a dentist in Manila or Puerto Vallarta Mexico using
the same panoramic x-ray units.
Photo: The panoramic apparatus slowly rotates 180 degrees around the patient's head taking the x-ray.
It doesn't matter whether you have your pano made in New York, Cabo or Manila.
It's simply a matter of cost and convenience.
What
does matter is having the assessment for implants or other surgeries
and the eventual dentistry performed by a board certified dentist. In
many developing nations - (Mexico, Thailand etc.) General dentists
untrained and un-certified for anything other than drilling and filling
teeth are permitted to attempt advanced dentistry learning as they go at
your expense (read that line again).
Your
best option or a successful dental vacation is to have a consultation
and pano made back home and send to a board certified dentist in Mexico,
Asia or elsewhere for their opinion and estimate. Your dentist, yourself or the team at an Office Max or Staples can copy and send. If a large content disk - DHL works. Forget regular mail - packages can lay around and get inspected in post offices and government inspection centers these days for 2 weeks or more.
If
you have already decided to head for Puerto Vallarta or Tijuana/San
Diego for your denture adventure and want to save $300 more or less on
the consultation at home - just wing it to your preferred dental travel
destination and have the pano and consultation there. The cost will be $65. for the pano - the
consultation often gratis. The dentist will give you options depending
on the results.
All on 4 prosthesis - can use mini or conventional (longer) implants.
- With
a pano to study dentist can often recommend several options for you
from conventional dental implants, mini implants, One-Day, 4 in 1,
implant secured dentures, traditional dentures and others.
A
complete exam for determining your suitability for maxillofacial or
dental implant surgery includes includes the pano, an in-chair
examination where the doctor will check your gum health, bone density,
sinus capacity, movability or your teeth and a general health
assessment.
Not
everyone is a candidate for dental implants - advanced age, heavy
smoking, diabetes and other issues factor in the decision making. Your
dentist will be able to recommend the best solution to your needs after
having received all the information necessary.
If you are contemplating dental travel abroad - be sure to get a Board Certified Dentist. Because in many developing nations (Mexico, Costa Rica, Thailand etc.) less-trained general dentists are permitted to learn advanced dentistry at the patient's expense on-the-job. (Read that line again)
Don't make yourself suffer. Board Certified Dentists usually cost the same as far-less skilled general dentists abroad. So avoid the general dentists unless you need basic work like cleaning, drilling, filling and pulling. That's what general dentists are trained for. Not dental implants or cosmetic dentistry.
Be sure to ask if the dentist is Board Certified. Most are not. Less than 1% are and those are the best dentists.
For
Board Certified Dentists in Mexico and Asia for the advanced dental
procedures most dental tourists want such as oral surgery, full-mouth oral restorations, cosmetic
dentistry and dental implants visit Certified Dentists Internationale'. They offer patient advising,
free estimates and referrals. www.certifieddentists.org/
Author: David Mandich has been writing about Health Care Tourism for 15 years.
Contact: angelswrote@gmail.com
Url: angelswrote.wordpress.com
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