Every day, 5.3 billion photos are taken around the world, meaning that 1.94 trillion images are captured in a year.[i] The widespread use of smartphones, and the constantly improving quality of their cameras, ensures that people can snap photos at anytime, anywhere.
In our digitally-driven society, dental practitioners should employ clinical photography to their daily workflow. This can be an invaluable resource in a variety of areas: patient education, legal documentation and marketing can all be enhanced by quality photography, but knowing how best to use the images can be challenging.
Photo sharing
Clinical photography is a vital tool for patient education. Complex treatments may cause uncertainties for patients about the process and the final outcome – patients will want to know what the change will be, be that tooth colour, shape, size or position.[ii] To demonstrate this, practitioners should take before and after photos of the different treatments they provide, enabling them to show future patients similar cases, aiding in treatment acceptance and compliance. Taking images at each step maps out a visual timeline of what occurs, helping to eliminate any uncertainties a patient may have. By physically seeing the changes in appearance, patients can better grasp what is happening in their oral cavity; showing can be more effective than simply telling them what will happen.[iii]
As well as improving patient understanding, having detailed photos for patients may also increase their trust in the practitioner; proof that they have delivered similar treatment to other patients with excellent results may reduce anxieties. Having a heightened sense of trust in a dentist can create a more satisfying and friendly experience for the patient, in turn empowering the dentist to act with greater confidence and self-belief.[iv]
Legal protection
Beyond illuminating treatment stages to patients, clinical photos can be a reliable form of legal documentation and record keeping. Fear of litigation often looms over dental practitioners, increasing the risk of burnout and leading to a decline in self-confidence and performance.[v] Taking a photo at each step of a complex treatment may add a few minutes to each appointment, but it can be a vital way for practitioners to legally protect themselves as plaster models and radiographs may not communicate appearance to patients as well.[vi]
Practitioners must ensure that patients have signed the corresponding approval forms for photos to be taken. Once approved, dental photos can have great legal purpose – at the minimum a photo before and after treatment should be taken, especially for patients who may be anxious or have had previous legal activity with a dentist.vi When referring patients, clinical photos also help other healthcare providers and show to the patient what was done at the dental practice and what was done elsewhere, providing extra coverage if anything transpires with the referral. As there are a plethora of ways clinical photos can be used – educational purposes, teaching, publication in scientific journals or articles, or marketing – the approval form must clearly cover the many avenues.
Tips and tricks
Tips and tricksTaking a photo has become so innate that dental practitioners will already have a foundational knowledge on what a good picture should look like. However, clinical photographs demand a camera more powerful than those on smartphones – DSLR cameras are an ideal place to start due to their interchangeable lenses and fast image transferring options. Other essential pieces of apparatus include occlusal and lateral mirrors, and cheek retractors. Using these enables clearer intraoral and extraoral images to be taken without being too invasive.
When taking a photo, practitioners should avoid undesirable exposure, inappropriate angles, unclear framing, and poor magnification, as these can lead to inconsistency during treatment and may make the results unclear to both practitioner and patient later on. Editing may also be required; this can be easily done on many cameras, phones and computers to ensure the image is clear and consistent with the others.
Become a pro
To learn how best to take clinical photographs, consider the Photography Course from the IAS Academy. An online session led by Dr Shiraz Khan, it is a fantastic opportunity for practitioners to deepen their understanding of using a digital camera in a clinical environment, ensuring that the right angles are chosen, the patients are correctly positioned, and the preferable settings are achieved.
With the right equipment and understanding, taking pictures can unlock a wealth of benefits that range from enhanced patient education to improved practice marketing material. By expanding the scope of the practice with photography, practitioners can feel empowered at every step of a treatment.
For more information on upcoming IAS Academy training courses, please visit www.iasortho.com or call 01932 336470 (Press 1)
[i] Broz, M. (2022). How Many Photos Are There? 50+ Photos Statistics (2022). [online] photutorial.com. Available at: https://photutorial.com/photos-statistics/.
[ii] Campos, L.A., Costa, M.A., Bonafé, F.S.S., Marôco, J. and Campos, J.A.D.B. (2020). Psychosocial impact of dental aesthetics on dental patients. International Dental Journal, 70(5), pp.321–327. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/idj.12574.
[iii] Ho, J.C.Y., Chai, H.H., Lo, E.C.M., Huang, M.Z. and Chu, C.H. (2024). Strategies for Effective Dentist-Patient Communication: A Literature Review. Patient Preference and Adherence, [online] 18(18), pp.1385–1394. doi:https://doi.org/10.2147/PPA.S465221.
[iv] Moore, R. (2022). Trusting the Dentist—Expecting a Leap of Faith vs. a Well-Defined Strategy for Anxious Patients. Dentistry Journal, 10(4), p.66. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/dj10040066.
[v] Threat of being sued worries 77% of dentists. (2019). British Dental Journal, [online] 226(9), pp.639–639. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-019-0332-5.
[vi] CASAGLIA, A., DE DOMINICIS, P., ARCURI, L., GARGARI, M. and OTTRIA, L. (2016). Dental photography today. Part 1: basic concepts. Oral & Implantology, [online] 8(4), pp.122–129. doi:https://doi.org/10.11138/orl/2015.8.4.122.
