Which type of radiograph is commonly used to evaluate dental caries between teeth?

The bitewing radiograph is specifically designed to visualize the areas between the teeth, making it the ideal choice for evaluating dental caries in those spaces. This type of radiograph captures the crowns of the upper and lower teeth in one image, allowing dental professionals to assess interproximal caries effectively—those that develop between adjacent teeth, where direct visual examination is often insufficient.

In contrast, panoramic radiographs provide a broad view of the entire mouth but are not effective for detecting interproximal caries due to their limited detail in these specific areas. Periapical radiographs focus on the entire tooth, including the root and surrounding bone, but again, they do not target the spaces specifically between teeth as clearly as bitewing images do. Cephalometric radiographs are primarily used for assessing the relationships of the teeth and jaws in orthodontics, thus offering little utility in the diagnosis of dental caries between teeth. These distinctions emphasize why the bitewing radiograph is preferred in this context.