Excellence in photography: heightening dentist-ceramist communication.

The goal of the dentist is to share accurate color and other tooth characteristics about the tooth being matched. The doctor must also communicate what preparation (stump) shades the ceramist is tasked with covering since this may influence the final outer porcelain color, depending on the restorative material selected. The higher the quality of the data that we share with our dental technicians, the greater chance they have to provide us with a final restoration that matches what we and the patient sees. Dental technicians are at a great disadvantage since they are usually not able to actually see the patient. Therefore, quality digital photo images can fill that important missing link. Precise digital images can be a tremendous asset for most dental offices and they provide a mechanism for heightened communication with the ceramist and the dental laboratory team--one of the keys to aesthetic restorative success.