How to send dental x-rays to another office
Referrals, transfers and second opinions all stall in the same place: the images. Here is how to get radiographs to another office without printing, burning a disc, or hoping an attachment goes through.
Step by step
Export the images
JPEG or PNG is fine for bitewings, periapicals and panoramic images. For a CBCT or a full 3D study, export DICOM instead.
Add them to a transfer
Multiple files per transfer, so a full-mouth series travels as one package rather than fourteen attachments.
Enter the receiving office and set a PIN
They need no account — just the link and the PIN.
Send the PIN separately
A text or a phone call. Never in the same email as the link.
Sending a 3D study or DICOM? Start here →
Common questions
Can I just email dental x-rays?
You can attach small images, but it is worth knowing what you are accepting: ordinary email is not encrypted end to end, most consumer providers will not sign a BAA, and the images sit in both mailboxes indefinitely. A link that expires, with a PIN sent separately, removes all three.
How do I send a full-mouth series?
Add every image to one transfer rather than sending them one at a time. The recipient gets a single package, which is also how they will want to read it.
What if the other office uses different software?
Standard image formats and DICOM are readable by every dental system, which is why exporting to those beats sending a proprietary viewer file. Nothing needs to be installed on their end.
Can I send x-rays to a patient?
For the patient’s own copy, a Dental Passport is the better route — the patient is identity-verified and controls the record afterwards, rather than a chart landing in whatever address was typed. Office-to-office transfers are what this tool is for.