What your records show

Photographs

Intraoral photographs record tooth positions, gum condition, wear facets and existing restorations at a fixed moment, which makes progress measurable rather than remembered. Facial photographs, including a profile, matter more than patients expect: orthodontics changes the support the teeth give the lips, and a plan that ignores the profile can produce straight teeth in a face that looks flattened or over-full.

Panoramic radiograph

A single image of both jaws showing every tooth including those still developing. It is the image that reveals a missing adult tooth, an extra tooth, a canine heading the wrong way, a root shorter than its neighbours, bone loss, or pathology in the jaw. Diagnosis without it is guesswork.

Lateral cephalogram

A standardised side view used to measure the relationship between the upper jaw, lower jaw and skull base, and the angulation of the front teeth relative to both. This is what distinguishes a dental problem from a skeletal one — in other words, whether protruding front teeth are teeth that are tipped forward or a lower jaw that sits back. Those need entirely different treatment, and they can look identical in the mouth.

Digital scan or impressions

A three-dimensional model of the arches, used to measure crowding in millimetres, assess arch width and tooth size discrepancy, and simulate movement. It is also the reference the final result is compared against.

Cone beam scan, when indicated

Three-dimensional imaging used selectively rather than routinely — for impacted teeth, suspected root resorption, airway assessment where clinically indicated, or planning around implants and surgery. It carries a higher radiation dose than a panoramic, so it is taken when the question it answers justifies it.