Before I began working in the dental industry, I’d never given much thought to the importance of dental photography. I would never have thought of photography as vital to a practice.
At most, I figured dental photos were a way for dentists to keep track of patients’ care.
I quickly learned that dental photography is an important way to document a patients’ progress, but it’s also about so much more. From the patient’s perspective, photographs showing proof of the problems create trust in the dentist’s diagnosis, and lead to a greater acceptance of the treatment plan.
Although dental photography isn’t a common practice (yet), the relatively small percentage of dentists who routinely take diagnostic photos can attest to importance of this powerful case acceptance tool.
The Importance of Dental Photography
I began to learn more about the importance of dental photography when I began teaching dental teams how to take dental photographs of their patients for Invisalign treatment.
I strongly encouraged teams to take diagnostic full-mouth photos for all patients to help illustrate the damaging health consequences of malocclusion, and to document changes over time.
Of course, because I was an Invisalign rep, I had many RDHs roll their eyes and assume this was a thinly veiled attempt at upselling.
It wasn’t.
Remember that just 30 years ago, x-rays and perio probing were not routine – yet we would never skip those things today.
Dental photography is the next frontier in diagnosing problems in the oral cavity. Someday it will seem absurd that it was ever optional.
How else can you document the issues affecting your patients?
How can you show them what you see in their mouth?
Increase Patient Trust with Dental Photography
Lots of patients worry that dentists over-diagnose. This usually stems from an inherent distrust, especially when the patient is unable to see the actual problem. And if a patient is asymptomatic, their skepticism only increases.
But there’s an easy way to begin tackling the problem of patient skepticism, while also beginning the important task of documenting patients’ care.
Nearly every dental office has a camera sitting around somewhere. It doesn’t matter if it’s a fancy DSLR or a cheap point-and-shoot.
You can get started right away – all you have to do is pick up the camera!
Streamlining the Practice of Dental Photography
Some of the best dental offices are diligent about taking a full panel of photos on all new patients. However, very, very few offices take pictures on re-care patients regularly.
It’s not enough to just document new patients.
The real power of photos comes from having a system to take them at regular intervals on all patients, and make it a standard of care in your dental practice.
Most dental offices don’t have a photo protocol because they feel they don’t have the time to set it up, train the team, and keep the team accountable to the new processes. However, taking routine photos can be in an important way to differentiate your office from your competition and provide the best patient care.
Here are a few helpful ideas to get you started:
- The main Doctor in the practice needs to be on board with taking photos. It also helps if the whole team is looped in on the process. Hygienists are perfect to take routine photos – since they spend so much time on education, it’s a natural addition to their conversations. Dental assistants can jump in and help if a patient is overdue for photos. Plus, front office team members can use photos during treatment presentations.
- Figure out how to use your camera. Find the macro setting (usually the flower), test out the zoom features.
- Get quick with taking photos, and learn how to do it with one person. This only works if it’s efficient!
- Develop a storage system for the photos so you can easily retrieve them in the operatories during patient visits. Make sure to back up all photos, just in case!
- Develop accountability mechanisms to ensure you’re actually meeting your photo-taking goals, such as pulling up patient photos during office meetings and discussing what treatment was accepted, or running a contest to see who can take photos on the most patients every week. Also use your morning huddles as a time to identify which patients you’ll photograph that day.
- Use the photos to have meaningful conversations. The photos themselves are meaningless without your narrative explaining to the patient why it’s important. Show and tell your patients what you’re recommending.
Every dental office is capable of integrating this simple practice to transform patient case acceptance.
So, pick up a camera today and get started!
Contact us today for more information about integrating dental photography your practice, and reply in the comments about your challenges taking patient photos.