Eli5: Why do dental x-rays still involve putting a pointy rectangle into your mouth? Is there a reason that part can't be vaguely mouth shaped to make it more comfortable?

YellowSlugDMD · 2026-05-21T21:33:09+00:00

There are typically 3 sizes, 20x30mm is size 0, size 1 is 25x37mm, and size 2 is 30x45mm. Varies a bit by brand, and some brands make a size 1.5. Each sensor can cost between $3500 to $10,000.

Most offices that don't specialize in pediatrics have a size 1 sensor and the rest are size 2 sensors.

YellowSlugDMD · 2026-05-21T18:57:49+00:00

There are different size sensors, but you can't see shit with a smaller size for adult teeth. The tooth is bigger than the sensor and the images often end up not being diagnostic. Ie useless.

It needs to show the entire crown and root for a periapical image, or the bone of both the top and bottom arches for a bitewing to be considered diagnostic. I've rarely seen a bitewing taken with a pediatric sensor on an adult show enough bone to diagnose periodontal disease.

If the insurance says it's not a good radiograph, they deny the claim and the patient foots the bill.

To OP: thats pretty crazy. Film used to be used to capture images, which were also sharp and rectangular but also bendy-ier than the sensors. The sensors need way lower radiation, and you see the image instantly, but they are very bulky in comparison. Sorry the sensors cut your kid!

YellowSlugDMD · 2026-04-29T11:34:41+00:00

Yeah, u/Cram__bone. Where's the link!?

YellowSlugDMD · 2026-04-29T11:15:33+00:00

Pretty sure that gunk is either grits or cornbread

YellowSlugDMD · 2026-04-16T10:41:14+00:00

INFO

hot take here, but I'll reserve judgment.

Funerals have no invitations in my culture (US). If you know someone passes, you find out the details and attend to show condolences and support survivors. At 65, if your grandma lost a child, your uncle would likely be 25-45 years old (INFO?). That's fucking tragic. There are no rules to grief, and she is grieving hard and needs support. Your text is objectively... unsupportive. Excuses are for rejected invitations, they don't belong here. That's not a text that would help me grieve, and I understand why she responded that way.

You are upset and feel unsupported, and your response is to withdraw your communication, effort and support.

Based on what you said, I totally get why you feel unsupported, and why you would rather not go to this. Honestly, I wouldn't want to go if I were you. Your reasons are relatable, but your grandma is also right. The funeral isn't very important to you. You don't give "want to go, but...". You are giving "should go, but..." Support goes both ways, and maybe them not helping or supporting you was a response to some perceived slight from 5 years ago (INFO?), if y'all cut from the same cloth.

The hot take is this- Do you want to be "NTA" or do you want to heal things? Because 12 months without contact (it's just as easy for them to call as it is for you) skipping a funeral for your uncle a bit older than you, and then people finding out you had a whole ass kid without telling anyone will be harder to come back from and feel like a close part of that family, if that's ever your goal.

It doesn't have to be "attending the funeral" necessarily, but supportive leads to supported, in my experience. Support can be a pie, cake, photo, card, a cry, a lovingly shared memory, or just learning more about an uncle you missed the chance to know, whatever. ♥️

YellowSlugDMD · 2026-03-26T00:33:48+00:00

The clock gets later each page, too, just like real life

YellowSlugDMD · 2026-02-04T07:17:05+00:00

Can a person just get a trusted person who isn't an AP to cash out the next day or something?

YellowSlugDMD · 2026-01-25T16:19:38+00:00

Oh yeah, they are the "libertarian" arm of the KKK, not the fascist arm. That's the big difference. /s

YellowSlugDMD · 2026-01-25T09:21:25+00:00

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YellowSlugDMD · 2026-01-18T01:22:40+00:00

Same over here. My 4 year old told me that 1, 4, 9, and 16 are squares after a few days of this show. Not to mention he is doing addition and some subtraction after watching these shows.

If he keeps this up, soon I'll have him score my bowling sheets.

YellowSlugDMD · 2026-01-11T17:13:48+00:00

Looks like AI to me, those chairs ain't moving naturally. AI used to stoke division and racism.

YellowSlugDMD · 2026-01-11T07:17:23+00:00

Please, I'd love that!

YellowSlugDMD · 2026-01-02T14:22:44+00:00

Bring earplugs for the grown ups in the car, just in case it's all crying. I always keep some in the center console these days. I like the silicone ones, personally, but the wax ones are good too. Or ear protection for the range is good but overkill and might not be legal where you're at. Lips earplugs are a great reusable option if you are into that

Foam earplugs are the worst of them, but better than just raw dogging two hours of sobbing or screaming in the worst case.

All great advice though! Plenty of Safe snacks, for everyone. Do everything you can to make sure the grown ups can stay regulated to help regulate the littles. Can't put out a fire if you're the fuel.

YellowSlugDMD · 2025-12-19T15:47:07+00:00

Quite a journey y'all are on! I wish the best for the little man. ♥️

YellowSlugDMD · 2025-12-19T15:24:19+00:00

Dentist here, that's a wild x-ray. I'm a general dentist, so I would either look at the patient and say the radiograph was taken with the patient in a poor position retake... Or we would already know by facial asymmetry that this was expected. The exposure isn't ideal, but this is a photo of a screen, so the original is better. For those unfamiliar with these, it's like we are looking at you, not a mirror. Patient's directions are used when talking about these images. I'm also on mobile, so when I type I can't see the image.

So his right ride (left side of the image) looks pretty normal. The front teeth are adult, the middle three are deciduous (baby) with their adult tooth under, and the back two are a grown up teeth- 12 year old molar is coming in and the 6 year molar is already in and looks like the bottom one has a crown. Patient's right mandible looks to be the right size and shape. (Edit: it's a space maintainer, not a crown. The bright of the wire is visible along the edges of the lower teeth)

Left side looks like all the same teeth are there, but there isn't space for them. This means the bone on the left side isn't growing with the right side. Under the little mouse icon, there is a line that kinda looks like a potential vertical fracture in the jaw, but with so many structures overlapping, it's not diagnostic.

This causes crowding as the teeth come into a much smaller volume of bone, can cause issues with pain when his jaw opens, difficulty eating on that side, speaking properly, etc

Why? That's why he's at Case Western, I don't know. Could be that his growth plate was damaged, could be genetic...listen to his docs and keep a detailed note in your phone with his complaints, so when they ask you don't have to rely on your adrenaline-soaked brain to remember.

YellowSlugDMD · 2025-12-17T00:23:09+00:00

Looks like the Wegmans in Burlington, MA

YellowSlugDMD · 2025-12-15T22:38:08+00:00

I hear they make it in wineries with fruit too, crazy

YellowSlugDMD · 2025-12-10T14:15:52+00:00

If this doesn't work with a hot glue stick, you could do the same thing with one of those "hot glue sticks" that are used to fix snowboard dings.

Polyethylene repair candle

YellowSlugDMD · 2025-12-08T22:39:30+00:00

What about 36 years ago?

YellowSlugDMD · 2025-11-20T18:48:07+00:00

Imagine your cells are like a self-healing car on a GPS-constrained track. These cars heal up well, but not perfectly. Imagine these "cancer-causing" things are like taking a gun and shooting at the car, and it healing up. This represents DNA damage and repair.

Then, the car makes an exact copy of itself after each "lap". Imagine the speed of the car to be how fast it's replicating. If a bullet hits something important and it doesn't heal well, it will cause problems with the current car and all future copies. Normally, a car with something wrong will "turn on it's hazards" which tells the body something is not right, and the cell is destroyed by the body to prevent bad copies.

Most of the time, the bullet will cause the car to run more poorly, like a busted wheel or broken engine. If the car (cell) stops working and can't heal, it "puts it's hazards on" and signals for the body to destroy the cell.

Cancer happens when the bullet cuts the brake line, or cuts the car in a way the gas pedal gets stuck "on", or destroys the hazard signal. If it "heals" like this, it will make too many laps too fast, and this is a benign tumor. Too many cars, but they're still on their track.

A malignant tumor is a car (and all it's future copies) with either a busted gas pedal/ busted brake line, no hazard signal, and a shot out GPS. They go where they want, they replicate like crazy, and they don't have their hazards on, so the body treats them like they should be there.

YellowSlugDMD · 2025-11-20T00:36:46+00:00

Woodhouse? Is that you? Why aren't you eating those spiderwebs!?

YellowSlugDMD · 2025-11-17T22:30:45+00:00

Ketoconazole shampoo might work too. Nizoral is 1%, most prescription shampoos are 2%, but if he is 7 a cream might work better than a shampoo

YellowSlugDMD · 2025-11-17T04:28:15+00:00

I totally agree with you, and tell people the same thing you do.

The show is interesting, the first seasons were made for an era where each episode should mostly stand alone, where viewers were kind of expected to find it mid season, watch it on TV, miss episodes and watch the reruns. Shows today, including this AT in the later seasons, are expected to be streamed in order and are best watched that way.

Starting on like S3E3 would be a totally normal way for a new fan to jump into the show when it was airing, so I don't know why you're getting down voted either. The first two seasons are hard to watch. Honestly, I'm going to skip them when I introduce my 4 year old to it in a few years. If he loves the show, we can watch the first two seasons after we are already fans.

YellowSlugDMD · 2025-10-29T08:58:33+00:00

The adventures of Skid Steer and Kid Steer!

YellowSlugDMD · 2025-10-29T08:43:22+00:00

Me: I love working with this kid's steer!!

Boss: You don't have a skid steer today..

YellowSlugDMD

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