Dental photography

Prepared by: Course coordinator:

Hassan Nasser al-zuraya Dr.Alok Dwividi
Rayed saeed al-mhari
Learning to take great clinical photos in your
practice is likely to be one of the best
investments you will make – from
professional development to patient
education, the benefits of dental photography
will quickly be felt by both yourself and
patients.
 9 reasons why dental photography
should be an essential part of YOUR
practice
1-Diagnosis and treatment planning.

2-Enhanced patient education and

communication.

3-Legal documentation.
4-Insurance verification.

5-Specialist consultation/referral.

6-Laboratory communication.
7-Professional advertising/marketing.

8-Professional instruction.

9-Treatment philosophy and work ethic.

 Digital photography
Why Go DIGITAL?
One of the major reasons is the ease of
use of such cameras, along with the ability to
repeat / delete unsuitable images on the spot.
There is no need to wait till the film is
developed to check
your photos.
Any problems can be easily rectified
immediately.
 Direct digital photography, which converts the
images almost immediately into a digital file, has
many beneficial advantages in dentistry, such as:
• Can see images almost immediately.
• Allows for immediate retakes when needed.
• Can make 100% exact duplicates.
• Media can be reused meaning no additional cost of
film or its chemical processing.
 Advantages of digital
photography
Single media can hold many images.
Ease of manipulation.
Images can be easily stored and catalogued.
Images can be instantly forwarded or
transmitted to interested parties, such as:
patients, labs,colleagues, insurance carriers,
and web pages among others.
 Clinical requirements for
photographic records
Digital camera.
Special cheek retractors.
Dental mirrors.
Taking clinical photographs.
 Double-ended
Retractors:
The recommended
cheek retractors to be
used for best results
in clinical
photography
are the double-ended retractors.
Dental Photography
Mirrors front-coated
silvered mirrors are
highly recommended
over other types.
 Long-handle Mirrors it is preferred
to use “longhandle”
mirrors as they allow better control and
handling by the clinician during the
occlusal shots. You can find different
sizes for use with different patients
depending on age and mouth-opening
size, but generally, the “Medium”
sized mirrors would be fit for use
with most patients.
 Extra-oral Photographs

Face-frontal .

Profile.
 Face-frontal for
examination of:
-facial symetry
-eyes.
-forehead.
-nose.
-lips.
.ears.
 Profile for
examination of
the patient profile:
-concave or convex
or straight.
 Intra-oral photographs

Frontal – in occlusion.
Right buccal - in occlusion.
Left buccal – in occlusion.
Upper occlusal.
Lower occlusal.
Purpose of the intraoral
photographs
Enable the dentist to review the hard and soft
tissue findings from the clinical examination
during analysis of all the diagnostic data.
To record hard and soft tissue conditions as
they exist before treatment.
 Frontal – in occlusion
for examination of:
-gingiva.
-occlusion.
-teeth.
 Right buccal - in occlusion
for examination of:
-gingiva.
-occlusion.
-teeth.
 Left buccal – in occlusion
for examination of:
-gingiva.
-occlusion.
-teeth.
 Upper occlusal for
examination of:
-upper teeth.
-hard palate.
 Lower occlusal for
examination of:
-lower teeth.
-floor of the mouth.
HOW TO IMPROVE IMAGE
QUALITY
Use of an aspirator.
Timing of photographs.
Tongue retraction.
File size of digital photographs.
Avoid noise in the photographs.
 Recent development

Recommended photographic system:

Camera is smaller and substantially lighter
than its predecessors.
Few adjustments are required during use.
Improved ease of focusing.
Positioning of the patient

For most straight anterior views,the patient

should be in a semi upright position with a
slight tilt backwards.
In a contour chair,the patient must turn his
head to the side so the operator does not has
to lean sideways over the chair and patient.
 Operatory dental light

It should not be directly on the teeth.

Keep the light on the side of the cheek and
out of the mouth.
The light is only needed to give enough light
to focus by.
 Helpful tips

Wetting the retractors just before insertion

eases the process of positioning them with
minimum patient discomfort.
Taking occlusal mirror shots,slightly warming
the mirror in warm water prior to insertion
helps prevent fogging of the mirror.
Saliva ejector can be used to eliminate saliva
prior to taking each photograph.
 References…
Clinical photography in dentistry ; Matrishva B.
Vyas ;Jaypee publication
A Short Guide to Clinical Digital Photography
Orthodontics Current Principles Techniques ;
Graber,Vanarsdall, Vig ; 4th Edt.
British Journal of Orthodontics.
Sandler PJ, Murray AM. Clinical photographs—The
gold standard. J Ortho.
THANK YOU