Journal of the American Orthodontic Society • January

Selecting The Right Camera For Your Practice By Fred Friedman, President, Clinipix hoosing the right digital camera for the orthodontic practice can be an extremely difficult choice. There are a variety of cameras available to the orthodontist ranging from the simple “point & shoot” type to the more sophisticated single lens reflex camera with macro lens and ring-light. There is no single camera that can be said to be “the best”. The “best” comes down to what will give you and your staff the results that best suits your needs. Marketing and patient education are greatly enhanced when previous case histories are docu-mented and offered as visual aids allowing the patient to see what has been accomplished previ-ously in your practice. The “before and after” presentation, when properly presented to the poten-34 January/February 2011 JAOS C tial patient can be an effective stimulus for treat-ment acceptance. The “point & shoot” cameras are generally small, light and easily handled by both staff and doctor alike. When properly modified for dental use, they can be an effective tool and will yield quite good results over the spectrum of orthodontic requirements from facial to intra-oral views. While these cameras can be had at high mega-pixel ratings, they do not have the optical quality of a true “macro” lens, nor do they have the smaller “f” stops found on macro lenses. These cameras are auto-focus only so that images taken of the same patient on each visit may not necessarily be exactly the same for comparison purposes. Cameras of this type generally do not have eyelevel viewfinders and focusing is done from the rear LCD screen. A high-quality camera should have a “grid screen” for easy horizontal/vertical positioning of the patient. Flash is built into the camera body, ring lights cannot be attached, and with proper technique, shadows are kept to a minimum. The CliniPix 123-EZ is a modified Canon camera that weighs 8 ounces. It has 14 megapixels, 3-inch rear LCD viewer and all functions pre-set requiring no expertise. It is ready for dental use out of the box. This camera will take high quality intra-orals and portraits as well as high-definition video with sound if desired.