What is a bitewing technique and its typical purpose?

• A. A small intraoral receptor placed to image posterior teeth crowns and proximal contacts; used for caries and bone height assessment.
• B. A panoramic technique used for the entire dentition.
• C. An extraoral technique for jaw evaluation.
• D. A method to image root canals only.

Answer: (A)

Bitewing imaging uses a small intraoral receptor placed to capture the crowns of the posterior teeth and the proximal surfaces between them. This orientation is ideal for spotting interproximal caries that aren’t visible on other views and for assessing the height of the supporting bone around those teeth, which helps evaluate periodontal status and detect early bone loss. It targets the areas between teeth and the upper portions of the roots, rather than the entire dentition or the tooth roots themselves, which is why panoramic or extraoral views don’t serve the same purpose. Root canal imaging isn’t the goal of bitewings, as those views are best seen on periapical radiographs that focus on tooth roots and surrounding bone.