Page 52 - CEREC Q2 | 2014

50 | CERECDOCTORS.COM | QUARTER 2 | 2014
if you open the local yellow pages
(if you have a copy lying around) and look
under “dentist,” virtually every listingwill
have the two immortal words, “Cosmetic
Dentist,” somewhere on the advertise-
ment. If we use the more modern equiv-
alent of the phone book — the search
engine — and do a search for “dentist”, it
would appear that every single dentist is
once again a “Cosmetic Dentist.”
Words on a paper or advertisement
simply stating that one is a “cosmetic
dentist” do not mean much. In my
opinion, if you want to do cosmetic
dentistry, whatever that may mean to
you, the number one tool in the arsenal
of a cosmetic dentist is the ability to take
proper photographs.
Proper photographs are critical for
communication. Communication can be
between the laboratory and the clinician
or if you use the CEREC, communication
between thedentist and thepatient. Proper
photographs will help you diagnose prop-
erly and then to effectively share the diag-
nosis with your patients — as well as your
potential patients. Properphotographswill
also improve your skills. There’s nothing
like taking a close-up photo of a case that
you just completed and realizing that you
could have done a number of things better
by doing your post-cementation critique.
There are many aspects to a properly
exposeddental photograph. In this article,
we will concentrate on some of the basic
equipment and settings that will make
taking a dental photograph easy. The
three critical items that youmust have are
a digital camera, a macro lens, and a ring
or twin flash. These items,
used together with the
proper settings, will give you
the best photos.
Capturing the Best Images
Digital Photography for Dentists
P H O TO G R A P H Y | | | B Y S A M E E R P U R I , D . D . S .
additional products as you venture
deeper into photography. Select a
camera body with a detachable lens.
The Canon Rebel series or the Nikon
D7000 are both good options for the
camera bodies (Fig. 1).
While some camera bodies can
cost upwards of $5,000 for a top-end
version, a good mid-range body can
be purchased for anywhere between
CAMERA BODY
The two main camera bodies that I
would recommend would be either
Nikon or Canon. While there are
numerous other digital camera manu-
facturers, these two have the largest
number of accessories available and
the biggest support networks around.
Virtually every big-box store carries
them and you can get a multitude of
Fig. 1: Camera bodies from
both Nikon and Canon
Fig. 2: 100 mmmacro lens
close up. This lens
allows the clinician to
get close-up photos and
details of individual teeth
Fig. 3: A properly exposed
photo with a macro lens allows the
clinician to get up to 3-4 teeth in
one photo
Fig. 4: Comparison in size of 100 mm lens
vs. 60 mm lens. The 60 mm lens is a
smaller, lighter alternative. However,
you will not be able to get as close as
with the 100 mm lens
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