What are occlusal radiographs used for?

• A. Measuring bone density
• B. Visualizing soft tissue
• C. Large areas of maxilla or mandible
• D. Imaging tiny calcifications

Answer: (C)

Occlusal radiographs provide a broad field of view of either the maxilla or mandible in a single image. This makes them ideal for examining large areas to locate structures like impacted or supernumerary teeth, assess the extent of lesions, and evaluate the overall arch and anatomy of the palate and floor of the mouth. They aren’t used to measure bone density, which relies on other methods, and they don’t give detailed soft-tissue imaging since radiographs mainly show mineralized structures. Tiny calcifications aren’t the primary target of these views, though such findings can occasionally appear incidentally.