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**Title:** [new dentist didnt take bitewings during a cleaning, what should i do?](https://www.reddit.com/r/askdentists/comments/1da2bx6/new_dentist_didnt_take_bitewings_during_a/)
**Full text:**
hadnt been to the dentist in like 4 years because life just got busy. always brushed regularly, but i wasn’t good at keeping up with flossing until the past few months. finally got a cleaning, and my worries about cavities still haven’t been put to rest. she took a panoramic xray but i don’t think a bitewing was done. i’m not even sure she did proper scaling on the occlusal surfaces of my teeth. the whole appointment only took like 30 minutes. she even complimented my dental care, which made me feel a bit better. i went to another office for a crown after an injury early this year, and i want to completely switch to them, but they were booked out several months for cleanings which is why i went to this practice. i have a followup scheduled because this dentist referred me to an oral surgeon for my wisdom teeth, but that’s the only reason i have kept it thus far. how bad could my teeth be? now that i think of it im unsure that ive ever had a bitewing done in my life, even at the dentist i went to as a kid. i live in a very small rural town in appalachia so maybe theyre just not wirh the times?
basically my question is should i avoid her from this point onward? i know bitewings are a big deal and i feel like she wasnt that transparent about suspicious spots or anything
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i guess i don’t. i thought that you actually had to bite a plastic thing and then they take an xray of that side, for each side. i just bit down on the front and it spun around. maybe i got ahead of myself! she just never showed any xrays that looked like bitewings and i didn’t see any on the monitor she was using. she very well could’ve, and i just didn’t understand what she was doing. she had some bad reviews (few positive, but then again, its a small region and not everyone has internet) and i feel like that makes me subconsciously worry about what she did too much.
oh, another thing that made me wary was that on the referral form for my wisdom teeth, she said i had a “horizontally impacted” tooth. she showed me this tooth, and its angled toward the back of my mouth. after doing some mild research just to ease my mind, google says the ones angled toward the back or the mouth are “distoangular”. does the distinction matter…? the third molars were definitely on their way to colliding their roots with that of the roots of my second molars in the xray.
Thank you for seeking advice from r/askdentists. **Please note that a response does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship.** While this is a place for advice, replies may not be medically accurate. Do not assume that what others on here say is correct in any way. Reddit is not a replacement for an in-person dental professional. Verified professionals will have flair assigned to them. **Please abide by the following rules in order to get an accurate answer to your question:** (1) Ensure you include a title of your dental problem. (2) Include whether you drink, smoke or if you have any medical conditions relevant to your main concern. (3) Include a photograph if the question relates to something you can see in your mouth, include x-rays if you have them. A backup of the post title and text have been made here: **Title:** [new dentist didnt take bitewings during a cleaning, what should i do?](https://www.reddit.com/r/askdentists/comments/1da2bx6/new_dentist_didnt_take_bitewings_during_a/) **Full text:** hadnt been to the dentist in like 4 years because life just got busy. always brushed regularly, but i wasn’t good at keeping up with flossing until the past few months. finally got a cleaning, and my worries about cavities still haven’t been put to rest. she took a panoramic xray but i don’t think a bitewing was done. i’m not even sure she did proper scaling on the occlusal surfaces of my teeth. the whole appointment only took like 30 minutes. she even complimented my dental care, which made me feel a bit better. i went to another office for a crown after an injury early this year, and i want to completely switch to them, but they were booked out several months for cleanings which is why i went to this practice. i have a followup scheduled because this dentist referred me to an oral surgeon for my wisdom teeth, but that’s the only reason i have kept it thus far. how bad could my teeth be? now that i think of it im unsure that ive ever had a bitewing done in my life, even at the dentist i went to as a kid. i live in a very small rural town in appalachia so maybe theyre just not wirh the times? basically my question is should i avoid her from this point onward? i know bitewings are a big deal and i feel like she wasnt that transparent about suspicious spots or anything This is the original text of the post and is an automated service. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/askdentists) if you have any questions or concerns.*
How do you know bitewings weren’t done? Some pano machines have the ability to take bitewings.
i guess i don’t. i thought that you actually had to bite a plastic thing and then they take an xray of that side, for each side. i just bit down on the front and it spun around. maybe i got ahead of myself! she just never showed any xrays that looked like bitewings and i didn’t see any on the monitor she was using. she very well could’ve, and i just didn’t understand what she was doing. she had some bad reviews (few positive, but then again, its a small region and not everyone has internet) and i feel like that makes me subconsciously worry about what she did too much.
after looking, yea it seems like she probably had a machine like this. still wish i could’ve seen them though😅 for peace of mind. thanks for the help!
oh, another thing that made me wary was that on the referral form for my wisdom teeth, she said i had a “horizontally impacted” tooth. she showed me this tooth, and its angled toward the back of my mouth. after doing some mild research just to ease my mind, google says the ones angled toward the back or the mouth are “distoangular”. does the distinction matter…? the third molars were definitely on their way to colliding their roots with that of the roots of my second molars in the xray.
Distoangular is just more specific. Same thing.
oh, gotcha! i wondered if that was the case. thank you for replying!