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Published September 2026

1 of 4From the outside the tooth looks fine
  1. From the outside the tooth looks fine
  2. A small sensor goes in beside the tooth
  3. A short beam passes through the tooth to the sensor
  4. The image shows the root, the bone and a dark patch of decay the eye cannot see

Who usually does it

general dentist. Taken in the general office as needed. Specialists take their own.

One question worth asking

What are you looking at on this picture, and can you show me on the screen?

Single tooth X-ray, each extra picture

Check-ups and X-raysPreventiveD0230

D0230. Each additional close-up picture taken at the same visit after the first.

A periapical X-ray shows one or two whole teeth from crown to root tip. Dentists use it to look at a tooth that hurts, check a root canal, or see the bone around a root. Occlusal X-rays show a wider top-down view of an arch.

A small sensor sits beside the tooth and the picture shows the whole tooth from the biting surface down to the root tip and the bone around it. Dentists use it to check one tooth in question, follow up a root canal, or look at a root before a tooth comes out. An occlusal picture is a wider top-down view of a whole arch. Most plans file this as Preventive. What they actually pay varies by plan.

Codes for this

D0220PreventiveSingle tooth X-ray, first pictureThe first close-up X-ray of one tooth at a visit.per image · Done oftenD0230PreventiveSingle tooth X-ray, each extra pictureEach additional close-up picture taken at the same visit after the first.per image · Done oftenD0240PreventiveTop-down (occlusal) X-rayA wider picture of the roof or floor of the mouth, used for children or to find extra teeth.per image · Done sometimesD0706PreventiveTop-down X-ray, picture onlyThe occlusal picture is taken here but read by another dentist.per image · Rarely doneD0707PreventiveSingle tooth X-ray, picture onlyThe picture is taken here but read by another dentist, so only the capture is billed.per image · Rarely done

Related

Have this on your plan?

Upload it or type the lines. We read it and show what happened to other patients. Free, no account.

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Single tooth X-ray, each extra picture (D0230): what happens, step by step | TruthMolar