Photography is a crucial component of dentistry that is sometimes overlooked and seen as unnecessary. However, dentists who photograph their work will find they greatly benefit from doing so.
What Do Dentists Gain From Dental Photography?
Marketing
Taking photos during a patient’s dental or orthodontic treatment is a fantastic way to market themselves to those who may be considering that same treatment. Real patient photos showcase the before and after so potential patients can see the value in your work and become a lead.
Your Patients Will Understand You Better
Through all their schooling, dentists understand their patient cases far better and more in-depth than the patient would. Unfortunately, the dental jargon may not resonate with patients, which is why there are so many mobile apps for dentists that successfully help educate their patients. By showing patients their own clinical photographs, though, they will gain a much better understanding of their case and how treatment will help.
Record-Keeping is Easier
Images are a fantastic way to keep track of your patients’ teeth before, during, and after treatment. Overall, being more diligent in record-keeping helps make your dental practice more efficient, therefore making for a more positive patient experience.
Recommended Cameras for Dentists
DSLR Cameras for Dental Photography
DSLR’s, such as those by Canon or Nikon, take beautiful pictures, as well as HD video. Newer cameras even shoot video in 4K, which is excellent for testimonials that you can then upload to your website and social media. Combine a DSLR with a macro (close-up) lens and you will take great photos of your patient’s teeth. The downside? They are pricey and tend to offer too many features that go beyond a dentist’s needs.
Point-And-Shoot Cameras for Clinical Images
Point-and-shoot cameras offer just enough for dentists to get the most use out of them, and they are far simpler than a DSLR because, as their name suggests, all you need to do is point it and shoot the picture. The trade-off with these is that the photos may not be the best quality.
OrthoPhoto App Smartphone Camera for Braces Progress Images
OrthoPhotom, an iOS app that you can download here, has successfully automated the time-consuming process of capturing and sorting progress images for dental braces patients, affordably. With a typical camera, dentists have to take the photos, upload them, manually crop and organize them into a file, and then place them into a patient’s file.
With the mobile application, however, dentists can take photos right on their smartphone camera, and today’s smartphones have astounding camera capabilities that keep getting better. Next, the mobile app automatically places the braces progress photos into a template with the correct crop, size, and order and then places them in a specific patient file. This significantly cuts down the time it takes to organize braces photos so dentists can dedicate their energy on other aspects of their job.
