[Roentgen diagnosis in oromaxillofacial surgery].

A vital X-ray imaging technique in oral and craniomaxillofacial surgery is the panoramic X-ray. Due to its variety of special projections, including imaging of the transversal level and low exposure to radiation, it is suitable for answering many clinical questions and for diagnostics of various findings. It has become possible to minimize the necessary doses by further development of technology and devices, as well as of X-ray films and by new detection systems, such as sensors or screens. In some clinical cases, the diagnostic deficiencies of conventional imaging techniques make computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging indispensable. Although MR is particularly suitable for soft tissue imaging, it has also become helpful in finding cortical changes by shorter measuring times. In certain cases, e.g., changes to bone metabolism, differentiated methods of nuclear medicine make image-aided analysis of function possible.