Photographs capture the shade, shape, texture and characteristics of teeth, gingiva & other oral tissue as well as extra-oral structures like lips & most importantly the smile. Photography is useful as an aid in patient education and is a good marketing tool with case photographs kept in the waiting room. It can also be used for treatment planning, case presentation, case documentation, patient identification. It is also important for evaluation of post treatment result. Digital photographs can be easily used for paper / case presentation in conferences etc.

Digital camera, 7-8 mega pix, is easily available & can be effectively used to capture anterior teeth & in orthodontics or aesthetic dentistry to capture smile, profile. Though it is advisable to go for digital SLR camera (with a good micro lence & ring flash) for posterior teeth, endodontics, surgical work etc as it is a much better resolution. There are a no. of brands available in the market. My personal recommendation is Nikon or Canon.

The various attributes of a smile can be captured & favorably altered to give a complete new look to the patient. & can be effectively conveyed to the patient with the help of a camera.

An intra-oral imaging system / Intra-oral camera is similar to a miniature video camera which may be used as a diagnostic aid, record storage and as a patient education tool.