Communication Information:
Photo How To
Straight on 1:2 photo of the preoperative condition. (In this case, the patient initially presented with previous dental work that was in need of being redone.)
Left Lateral 1:2
Right Lateral 1:2
Straight on, big smile with the incisal edges visible. Ask the patient to “open and smile” if needed to see the teeth. Be sure the patient is looking right at the camera, and not to the left or right This is the most important photo for the future design. Be sure the photo is of high enough resolution that it can be zoomed in on without pixelation.
These first four photos plus a stick bite photo are required for a diagnostic wax-up or PMMA Esthetic overlays. Final treatment of the case requires the additional photos shown below.
Prep shade with an ND shade guide in the photo.
This is a critical photo that we use to choose the color and opacity properties of the ceramic restorations for the patient.
Be sure to shoot from different angles to tell the whole story.
Photos of Temps
1:2 straight on
This gives me a closer look at how the provisional restorations are shaped and how they interact with the lips
Temps right lateral view 1:2
This helps evaluate incisal edge vs. the wet-dry line on the lip.
Right lateral 1:2
Again, this helps evaluate how the teeth interact with the lips. In this photo, the doctor has added a note to make some changes from the shape of the temps. This is great communication.
Full-face photo of the temps, with a big smile.
Again, be sure the patient is looking right into the camera. Use a high-resolution photo that will allow us to zoom in and crop the photo to see more detail. Have the patient open while smiling if necessary to expose the incisal edges. You want to see the bicuspid cusp tips as well. This is the photo that will direct the final design of the smile.
Face bow verification photo.
Be sure the photo angle is straight on, or you will not be able to evaluate the photo properly.
Stick bite photo.
Be sure the patient is looking straight into the camera. If the photo is taken from a slightly lateral angle, it will appear that the stick is canting one way or the other. The stick is just a horizontal leveling tool, not a bite registration, so be sure it indexes easily on the lower anterior teeth, but don’t have the patient bite through it.
Bigger full-face smile showing gingival display.
Again, this is an “open slightly and smile” shot. This is something that people don’t naturally do without instruction; professional models are taught to do this. It is a great shot for smile design, everything is visible and can be evaluated. Even if the patient doesn’t naturally smile this big, try to get this shot so that I can use it to sync the design to facial features.
Looking down on the midline shows the wet dry line and how the centrals relate to the lips.
Shade communication of gingival color is only necessary for cases where we are using pink ceramic to match the patient’s natural gingiva.
Shade matching photos. Try to keep shade tabs in the same focal plane as the teeth. Be sure the shade tabs can be identified in the photo. It is good to take this photo from several different angles if we are trying to match a single existing tooth. In this case, one photo like this is adequate to show the color of the provisionals and let me know what shade the patient would like for their final restorations.