Ranking the used Intraoral Bitewing Dental X-Rays

You’re bound to come across hordes of spec sheets and sales literature if you’re looking to purchase a new dental x-ray for your office.  If you’re looking for a new used x-ray — the information trail drops dead.  Manufacturers have an incentive to push new equipment onto the market and tend to keep their information on discontinued models under lock and key.  Google searches turn up nothing and it feels as though you’re going to have to waterboard your equipment rep just to get an opinion on the reliability of the Siemens Heliodent (think ’71 Ford Pinto).  Luckily enough Atlas  comes on the scene to give you an educated opinion before diving into the secondary market of intraoral radiography.

We’ve ranked the common used x-rays into multiple tiers based on several criteria including usability, reliability, bang for the buck and overall quality.  Oddly absent from the list of criteria?  Whether or not the model name contains the number 7.  X-Ray Manufacturer’s love the number 7.  Let’s begin, shall we?

Top Tier: These x-rays are proven reliable, you can purchase these without too much worry about functionality and third party support.

GX-770 – Search in our store

• Gendex created a long lasting beacon of reliability with the 770.
• Simple  design, easy to install and easy to use.
• Used parts and accessories are commonly available, an important attribute when purchasing used.
• Avg Price: $1250  Range: $850-$2200

Belmont 071A — Search in our store

• An X-Ray built like a tank.  The heads seem to last forever as long as you don’t punt it from the third floor.
• We’ve had 071A’s come through the door that looked like they served as a hood ornament in a demolition derby, but still fired up and operated.
• Very well manufactured, mounts are readily available in the secondary market.
• Avg Price: $670  Range: $350-$950
  

If General Patton used a dental x-ray, it would be these

Tier 2:  Excellent X-rays that barely miss the top tier, probably because of this guy –

I hope this doesn't look like your equipment rep.

Gendex 765DC — USAF Evaluation

 

• UPDATE:  Since I originally made this post, I’ve heard from several doctors and technicians that the 765 has a design flaw.  There’s a small wire that runs through the arm and is prone to breaking.  From what I’m told this flaw is irreparable.
• A solid intraoral x-ray and close relative of the GX-770.
• User friendly, easy to read control panel.
• Seamless design of tubehead for simplified infection control
• Downside: Pre 2001 units had a faulty circuit board that would indicate the unit needed to be shut down due to heat.
• Avg Price: $1960  Range: $1125-$2800
  

Gendex ExpertDC — Manufacturer .pdf

• This newer Gendex x-ray hasn’t been out for as long as the top tier x-rays, so we have it in the second tier since the overall reliability has not been tested.
• Part of the same family as the GX-770, the gold standard for reliability.
• 0.4 mm focal spot for clearer detail in images.
• Avg Price: $2300  Range: $1950-$3525
  

Belmont Belray 096 — Manufacturer PDF

• Another excellent x-ray that could be argued into the top tier.  However, we’ve had a couple come through with some functionality issues so we’re forced to drop it down a peg.
• Intuitive & simple user interface.
• Produces high contrast, crisp radiographs.
• They’ve been around since the mid-late 90′s so there’s a variety on the market.
• Avg Price: $1500  Range: $710-$2300
  

Planmeca Prostyle — 1 available for $1,425

• Planmeca produces some stout products, and the Prostyle is no different.
• Offers a variety of installation configurations.
• While the x-ray head itself provides great reliability, some of the other components (controls) have fairly flimsy construction and are prone to damage.
• Avg Price: $1025  Range: $850-$1500
  

Tier 3:  Decent x-rays that have some common known issues.

Dent-X X-70 — Search in our store

• Very usable x-ray, but when you Google this x-ray the very first result is a troubleshooting guide.  Big. Red. Flag.
• Provides a stable arm – but the springs have been known to go bad
• Tubehead maneuvers better than average
• We’ve observed a couple with blown heads
• Avg Price: $1180  Range: $700-$1500

Trophy AD17 & Elitys — Trophy products on our website

• Trophy makes a good x-ray, but again we’ve had issues with the heads on these x-rays
• Good selection of arm lengths available
• Not as common, so used replacement parts are hard to come by
• Very good at limiting back scatter of radiation.  The future off-spring of your staff appreciates this feature.
• Avg Price: $795  Range: $450-$1295
  

Tier 4: Say hello to the Mickey Mouse Club

How did a loveable anthropmorphic cartoon mouse come to become the mascot of mediocrity?

Siemens Heliodent — Heliodents on our site

Before I take to roasting this imperfect x-ray, let me say a few kind words:

• The doctors that use this machine really like it.
• It’s highly usable, accurate and provides good images.
• The gravity assist arm is solid and the unit overall is light weight and let’s be honest, it looks like a nice machine.

Now, with the niceties out of the way, we can move on to the more scathingly impolite things that should be said of the Heliodent.

• Being that the doctors that use the Heliodent really like them, there’s usually a good reason why one shows up on the secondary market.
• If someone really enjoys the features and functionality of a particular device they aren’t likely to arbitrarily send it out the door as an act of voluntary selflessness for the next user.
• As a used equipment reseller we’ve seen plenty of these units come through the door and an alarming percentage have had blown heads.  It seems they have a lifespan of between 8-12 years.
• There’s a trick to tell if the head is functional or not.  You need an extremely quiet room, then take the head and rotate it slightly in your hand with your ear as close as possible.  That faint sound of viscous oil roiling about as if Jed Clampett just missed a squirrel with his .30-06 means you’re holding a veritable paperweight.  There’s some third parties out there that do offer to have the heads re-built for around $1,500.  How reliable they end up being… who knows.  If the same design flaw is present then it’s likely you’ll have the same problem down the road.
• Avg Price: $690  Range: $185-$2000  (prices are affected downwards by units sold on an as-is/parts basis)
  

You will notice (the astute observer that you are) that this list is incomplete.  This is just a snap shot of some of the more common dental x-rays that you’ll find on the used market today.  Plus, we’d have to create an entirely different ranking system for the old Pennwalt Marksman, Spacemakers and a whole slew of older GE models that pre-date the Carter administration.  However, this should serve as a guide from at least one source in your hunt for your new used bitewing.