Essentials of Dental Photography

An accessible, one-stop guide to getting the most out of dental photography in clinical practice

Dental photography is an increasingly important part of dental care in general practices, hospitals, and specialist clinics. The uses of dental photographs are numerous, such as monitoring treatment outcomes, educating patients, promoting services, and providing evidence for litigation or regulatory purposes. Essentials of Dental Photography is a user-friendly guide to incorporating dental photographs into daily practice. Containing real-world advice and proven techniques, this book helps clinicians understand and apply the fundamental principles of dental photography.

Accessible chapters cover every major aspect of dental photography and answer the most common questions asked by clinicians. Step-by-step instructions show readers how to select the correct photographic and dental equipment, setup equipment for a variety of dental procedures, process images using photo-editing software, and more. The author, a recognised expert in the field, explain the basic concepts of dental photography and how to create high-quality, predictable and repeatable images. Providing an easy-to-follow roadmap to exceptional dental photographs, this practical guide:

• Covers all the basic concepts, equipment, and techniques of dental photography
• Illustrates the photographic setups for both intra- and extra-oral images
• Provides recommendations for appropriate types of cameras, lenses, flashes, reflectors, tripods, and software
• Discusses photographic archiving, electronic dissemination, printing, publishing, and presenting images

Essentials of Dental Photography is a valuable guide for dental practitioners and new graduates looking to learn dental photography and apply it in practice.

IRFAN AHMAD is a member of the European Academy of Esthetic Dentistry and author of Conventional and Digital Dental Photography: A Practical Clinical Manual, A Clinical Guide to Anterior Dental Aesthetics, Protocols for Predictable Aesthetic Dental Restorations, Esthetic Clinical Case Studies: Dilemmas & Solutions, Prosthodontics at a Glance, 3D Printing in Dentistry 2019/2020 and has contributed to several other dental textbooks by eminent authors.

Foreword xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Section 1 Equipment and Concepts 1

1 Photographic Equipment 3

Cameras 4

Sensors 6

Resolution 9

Sensor Speed or ISO 13

Sensor Cleaning 13

Colour (Bit) Depth 15

White Balance 16

Focusing 16

External Flash 17

Remote Shutter Release 17

Lenses 17

Lighting 19

Supports 23

Other photographic items 25

References 25

2 Dental Armamentarium and Clinical Considerations 27

Retractors 27

Photographic Mirrors and Contrasters 27

Field of View 30

Cross‐infection Control 31

Health and Safety 32

Location 33

Supports 39

Delegation 40

Patient Consent 41

References 42

3 Technical Concepts and Settings 45

Every Picture Tells a Story 45

Setting the Tone 48

Lighting 48

Depth of Field 52

Exposure and Histogram 57

White Balance 63

Resolution 64

Other Settings 68

References 68

4 Composition and Standardisation 69

Composition 69

Dominance 69

Positioning 72

Leading the Eye 79

Balance 83

Standardisation 84

Standardisable Factors 89

Non‐standardisable Factors 92

References 94

Section 2 Photographic Set‐ups 97

5 Extra‐Oral and Intra‐Oral Images 99

Positioning 99

The Essential Dental Portfolio 101

Extra‐Oral (Dento‐Facial) Compositions 103

Intra‐Oral Compositions 107

Optional Compositions 117

References 135

6 Portraiture 137

Lighting for Portraiture 137

Manipulating Light 138

Colour Temperature 138

Direction: Key Light 140

Intensity and Size 147

Fill Light 150

Background Light 153

Clinical Portraiture Set‐Up 154

The Essential Portrait Portfolio 156

Optional Clinical Portraits 164

Non‐clinical Portraiture Set‐up 166

Generic Studio Portrait 167

Flattering Portrait 167

Profile Portrait 168

Coloured Gel Portrait 170

Classical Smile Line Portrait 171

Clinical vs. Non‐clinical Portraiture 173

References 173

7 Bench Images 175

Uses of Bench Images 175

Backgrounds and Supports 178

Lighting 183

Bench Image Set‐ups 184

Equipment Settings 186

Dental Casts (Models) with Black Background 189

Dental Cast with Coloured Background 190

Implant Supported Temporary Crown with Red Background 190

Perspex Backgrounds 193

Bokeh Composition 195

Stroboscopic Effect 196

References 202

8 Special Applications 203

Detailed Analysis of Hard and Soft Tissues 203

Opalescence and Fluorescence 208

Fibre‐Optic Illumination 215

UV Illumination 215

Colour Fidelity 216

Shade Analysis 221

Scale Reference Markers 227

Annotations 230

Bleaching (Tooth Whitening) 236

Phonetics 236

Occlusal Analysis 239

Treatment Sequences 242

Endodontic Documentation 246

Focus Stacking 247

Video 247

Promotional and Artistic Imagery 248

References 248

Section 3 Processing Images 251

9 Processing Images 253

Monitor Calibration 253

File Formats 254

Imaging Software 255

Image Processing 260

Colour Spaces 262

White Balance 265

Exposure 265

Orientation, Scaling and Cropping 273

Artefact Removal 285

Local Adjustments 286

Sharpening 287

References 293

10 Exporting, Managing and Using Images 295

Exporting Files 295

Output Location 295

Naming Conventions (Formats) 297

Export Recipes 299

Image Management 301

Using Images 306

Documentation 306

Communication 307

Marketing 313

Education 315

References 331

Index 333

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