ANSWERS

What is dental case photography?

Dental case photography is the standardized clinical photo set a dentist sends to the lab with each case: retracted full-arch views, occlusal arches, anterior shade tabs against the prep, and a 1:1 close-up of the prep margin. The lab uses these images to match shade, map translucency, verify margin clarity, and des...

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Why it works this way

What case photography actually contains

A complete case photography set for a lab-fabricated restoration runs eight to twelve images per case. The standard sequence: full-face retracted smile, retracted frontal in occlusion, left and right lateral retracted, upper and lower occlusal mirror shots, isolated prep with retraction cord placed, and a 1:1 close-up of the prep with a Vita Classical or 3D-Master shade tab held in the same plane as the tooth. For anterior cases, add a polarized shot to remove specular reflection and reveal internal effects.

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Do I need to send photography for posterior crowns?

For single posterior monolithic zirconia or PFM crowns where shade is taken from a stump shade and adjacent dentition is uniform, photography is optional. Send the scan, the stump shade, and the target shade and the case proceeds. Photography becomes required when the adjacent teeth show characterization, when the patient requested a specific incisal effect, or when the case is a second-attempt remake. A retracted occlusal shot still helps the technician verify arch form against the scan.

What camera setup do dentists use for case photography?

The clinical standard is a DSLR or mirrorless body with a 100mm macro lens and a ring flash or twin flash. Canon and Nikon both publish dental photography kits in this configuration. Smartphone photography with a clip-on macro lens works for retracted overview shots but fails on the 1:1 prep close-up because depth of field and color accuracy are not controlled. For anterior cases sent to a ceramist, the DSLR setup is the working assumption.

How does case photography affect lab turnaround?

Complete photography sent at case submission keeps the case on the posted turnaround. Photography sent after the case enters CAD restarts the design step and adds 24 to 48 hours. For anterior ceramic cases at Dani Dental, missing photography pauses the case until the photos arrive because the ceramist will not layer porcelain without the shade reference. The fastest path is to upload the photo set through the case portal at the same time as the intraoral scan.

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This answer is one piece of a larger workflow. The pillar page covers materials, turnaround, and how we build the case to your specification.

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