05/09/2026
Just a few months after the discovery of X-rays, German dentist Dr. Otto Walkhoff performed one of the most important experiments in dental history. Using a small glass photographic plate placed inside his own mouth, he captured what became the world’s first dental radiograph.
The exposure reportedly lasted around 25 minutes — an uncomfortable and risky process by today’s standards. But for the first time ever, a dentist could see inside teeth and bone without cutting into tissue.
That single image transformed dentistry forever. It opened the door to modern diagnostic imaging, allowing dentists to detect hidden decay, infections, bone loss, impacted teeth, and many other conditions that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Today, dental X-rays take only fractions of a second. But modern dental imaging began with this historic moment in 1896.
