Henry Hollman, then head of the X-Ray Division of the SS White Dental Corporation, invented the Panorex (his name for it, combining "panoramic" with "rex", Latin for king) after having attended a presentation by the US Navy prior to the Korean War during which they asked dental x-ray companies to develop a device for the quick screening of troops. Their request arose from the problems associated with dental screenings of tens of thousands of recruits during WWII using the "bite on many pieces of cardboard film" process that required a huge amount of time. In the face of the Korean conflict, they wanted a quicker screening technique.
Hollman returned to his company on Long Island and took up the task with one of his engineers, Jack Fouty. They solved the problem caused by "shadow of the spine" across the front teeth by having the chair shift a few inches halfway though the cycle of the X-Ray head.
The machine became a boon to orthodontists because it was the first method available that would give an entire view of a patient's mouth.