# Bitewing X-rays **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 16, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123 "2012-05-16T18:15:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DiamondNinja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@DiamondNinja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiamondNinja)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/1 "2012-05-16T18:15:56Z")
OK, who is the sadist that invented these damn things? As if they weren’t bad enough before, my dental office got some new “handles” for them that don’t bend at all. I spend the first 5 minutes of my exam pushing the hygienist’s hands out of my mouth, gagging more than I have since my pregnancies. I refused to have the x-rays done. I was not in the mood to lose my breakfast so they could see whatever the hell they needed to see. I just had x-rays done 2 years ago, and I’ve never had a cavity in my life…I’m 41. For shit’s sake, either get another device or just keep that “thing” out of my mouth. End rant. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/2 "2012-05-16T18:24:26Z")
I have no idea what those are, but x-rays always make me gag. It is the most unpleasant part of going to the dentist. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/3 "2012-05-16T18:30:47Z")
The worst I ever had was a practice that had just gone fully digital - rather than the traditional bits of film wrapped in plastic about as flexible as house siding, the thing in my mouth was an electronic sensor. Not only was the sensor completely rigid and square-edged, there was a cable connecting it to whatever, so while the inside of your mouth gets dug into, you get to drool along the cable. Blech. I was happy to see that they’ve since gone back to film. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/4 "2012-05-16T18:30:50Z")
I find a 5mg vicodin really helps me relax and lessens my gag reflex. Also, the digital plates are much less troublesome than the old film that hurt my cheeks and gums. My dentist office also has it as a big red pop-up on their computers that I have a sensitive gag reflex and they’re really great about talking me through it, counting down and hustling to remove the sensor asap. I used to have a much harder time before my current dentist. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/5 "2012-05-16T18:32:14Z")
Hate them. I am a large man with a big head and a big mouth. So why do the X-ray “bitewings” press painfully against my hard palate? How can they even fit for a smaller person? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/6 "2012-05-16T18:55:02Z")
Mouth size and height aren’t that tightly correlated, perhaps? I’m a small person with a big mouth. Yes, I do hear you laughing in the back of the room there, ha-ha, but in this case it’s not my tendency to talk but the physical dimensions involved - I’ve got enough room to keep all four of my wisdom teeth without crowding which by modern standards is an unusually roomy mouth. But I’m not very tall, even for a woman. On the other hand I have a couple [dental tori](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torus_mandibularis) that can make placing bitewings a problem, and that may also be the case for other people who have issues with them. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/7 "2012-05-16T19:07:42Z")
I can’t open my mouth more than a few centimetres without white-knuckle agony. You can imagine the fun I have at dental visits. ☹ Maybe that’s why I’ve gone five to ten years between? Fortunately no cavities so far, and am biting the bitewing to go more often now to put them off (I have no idea what they’d do if they actually found anything). So, yeah. Add to the blinding pain of the process the occasional blips of sheer terror when my brain reacts to having an asphyxiation-capable slug that I can’t remove. ~shudder~ ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/8 "2012-05-16T19:55:41Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > The worst I ever had was a practice that had just gone fully digital - rather than the traditional bits of film wrapped in plastic about as flexible as house siding, the thing in my mouth was an electronic sensor. Not only was the sensor completely rigid and square-edged, there was a cable connecting it to whatever, so while the inside of your mouth gets dug into, you get to drool along the cable. Blech. > > I was happy to see that they’ve since gone back to film. Mine does this too now. They’re HEAVY. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/9 "2012-05-16T20:26:05Z")
God I hate those things. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/10 "2012-05-16T20:36:20Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I have no idea what those are, but x-rays always make me gag. It is the most unpleasant part of going to the dentist. They are those stiff white things they put in your mouth when they do the x-rays. And they suck as I have a very sensitive gag reflex. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/11 "2012-05-16T20:39:44Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > They are those stiff white things they put in your mouth when they do the x-rays. And they suck as I have a very sensitive gag reflex. Thanks. Yes, I hate them too. ---
**Author:** ![DiamondNinja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@DiamondNinja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiamondNinja)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/12 "2012-05-16T21:58:07Z")
Glad I’m not the only one. I knew as soon as I saw that thing coming towards me it was not going to happen. She also had me lift one foot(??) It was just weird. I also can’t tolerate the suction thing they use these days instead of letting you rinse and spit into that little sink. This has all become a problem since my pregnancies; my gag reflex is just…bad. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/13 "2012-05-16T22:21:34Z")
Ugh. Second to last dental visit I had… it was horrible. I don’t remember having such problems with them before (and I do have a very sensitive gag reflex), but this was a new dentist who was presumably using a different sort of shield. I really barely got through it, and lucky for me it was early in the morning, before I’d had breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/14 "2012-05-16T22:59:44Z")
> [@DiamondNinja](#): > > Glad I’m not the only one. I knew as soon as I saw that thing coming towards me it was not going to happen. She also had me lift one foot(??) It was just weird. > > I also can’t tolerate the suction thing they use these days instead of letting you rinse and spit into that little sink. > > This has all become a problem since my pregnancies; my gag reflex is just…bad. Do you have the salt sandblasting thing too? Where they put the cloth over your face? God, I feel sick just thinking about it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/15 "2012-05-16T23:27:30Z")
Years ago I visited a dentist who used a dental x-ray machine that scanned my whole mouth at once. You use it standing, and rest your chin on a platform and then the machine sweeps around your mouth. I don’t know what it’s called, but it was much less invasive than the bitewing x-rays and the result was a single image of my whole mouth. ---
**Author:** ![DiamondNinja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@DiamondNinja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiamondNinja)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/16 "2012-05-16T23:47:51Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Years ago I visited a dentist who used a dental x-ray machine that scanned my whole mouth at once. You use it standing, and rest your chin on a platform and then the machine sweeps around your mouth. I don’t know what it’s called, but it was much less invasive than the bitewing x-rays and the result was a single image of my whole mouth. It’s a panorama x-ray, and that’s what we settled on for me. It’s not as detailed as the bitewing variety, but given I have no history of decay, I’m good with that. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/17 "2012-05-18T23:05:37Z")
The new digital bitewing x-ray device in use at my dentist’s office makes the old film-based ones seem so pleasant. The one at his office is this huge chunk of plastic covered by a surprisingly thick piece of plastic film. This is jammed into your mouth by the hygienist with no regard for your gums or your soft palate (I still have a slightly irritated spot behind my lower front teeth). I don’t care how much faster or more convenient it is…IT HURTS. I loudly voiced my opinion to both the hygienist and the dentist, and I’m considering finding out the name of the manufacturer so I can contact them too. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/18 "2012-05-18T23:43:46Z")
God, I hate those things. They always cut into the soft tissue under my tongue and make them sore for days. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/19 "2012-05-19T23:02:56Z")
My dentist told me I had the smallest adult mouth she had ever seen. I can barely get the child size bitewing thingies in my mouth, much less hold them while they get an image. I’m not looking forward to doing them again at my next visit. ---
**Author:** ![DiamondNinja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@DiamondNinja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiamondNinja)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123/20 "2012-05-20T02:01:07Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > The new digital bitewing x-ray device in use at my dentist’s office makes the old film-based ones seem so pleasant. The one at his office is this huge chunk of plastic covered by a surprisingly thick piece of plastic film. This is jammed into your mouth by the hygienist with no regard for your gums or your soft palate (I still have a slightly irritated spot behind my lower front teeth). I don’t care how much faster or more convenient it is…IT HURTS. I loudly voiced my opinion to both the hygienist and the dentist, and I’m considering finding out the name of the manufacturer so I can contact them too. I’m pretty sure those are the ones they tried on me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bitewing-x-rays/622123.md?page=2)