Medical Imaging & Clinical Research

Dentistry Imaging

Digital imaging in dentistry has come to describe several technologies. This article will focus on digital images captured by digital cameras and their use in patient consultations.

Although digital photography is no longer new, the power of high-quality photography is still “king” of dental technologies with regard to patient communication. The opportunity to communicate directly and visually with our patients empowers the Big 3 in dentistry:

1. Diagnosis (disease, trauma, or esthetic dilemma)

2. Treatment planning (multidisciplinary or sequence)

3. The treatment preview (accurate cosmetic imaging of the proposed result)

Cosmetic or esthetic dentistry has become mainstream in general dentistry, with patient demand increasing yearly. If the goal of cosmetic dentistry is completely visual, then our consultation should also be completely visual. I call this visual experience the Digital Patient Consultation (DPC).