Unbiased oral health information

Procedures

Photographs

Procedure overview

Learn about the dental procedure, when it is generally prescribed, and other information which can increase your knowledge of the topic.

Alternate terms: Pictures.

Diagnostic photographs can clearly illustrate the need for treatment that may not be obvious to a patient (Figure 1). As importantly, they can also rule out the need for treatment, and spare a patient needless time, money and potential discomfort. For example, if a dentist observes flat wear planes (on a patient's teeth the first time he meets a patient, and the patient denies a tooth grinding ("bruxing") habit, the dentist may choose to photograph the wear planes and compare the photographs to the teeth at future checkups.

If the patient does not have an ongoing habit, the wear would not be expected to increase, and treatment for the suspected bruxing habit may be avoided. In such a case, it may be reasonably concluded that the wear occurred in the past—possibly before the patient's teeth were moved orthodontically, or during an especially stressful time of their life.

Dental photography with intraoral cameras helps communicate problems to patients

Figure 1: Helping a patient understand the need for treatment: the upper left image shows a cavity that was not obvious to the patient. When the cavity was opened up with dental instrumentation, the underlying decay is obvious (upper right frame). Complete removal of the decay is shown in the lower left frame, and the tooth-colored composite resin filling is shown in the lower right frame.

Whenever communication can be facilitated between a patient and their dentist, a photograph is a good idea. A better question might be, when should there be a charge for diagnostic photographs, and who should pay? Although there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question, if expenses are incurred by a dentist to expose photographs for valid diagnostic reasons, there is value associated with them.

An example is photographic monitoring of wear planes on teeth described in the opening section of this page. In contrast, it is a matter of debate whether a patient or their dental benefits plan should bear the cost of exposing photographs used for "before and after" advertising photographs.