Color and photography in the restorative dentistry. A brief communication about color temperature, dental color and the use of light and photography in dental practice

Relevance. Optical properties of dental tissues can be captured by photography, considering the characteristics of the light sources. Therefore photography might become a way to communicate the color and the characterizing aspects of the teeth, reducing the misunderstandings between the dental practice and the laboratory in the project of dental restoration. Purpose. To illustrate some ways of using the current photographic technology to document teeth color correctly, and to be able to communicate it without misunderstandings and to replicate it in a simple way. Materials and methods. The photographs were taken using Nikon D500 digital camera, Nikkor 60 mm 2.8 macro lens, Nikon SB-700 Speedlight flash, natural light diffuser and a reflector panel. Results. Correct precautions in execution of the photographs make it possible to obtain more realistic images and to limit defects in the perception of color, due to the incorrect use of the light sources. Conclusions. Well executed photograph makes it possible to obtain high quality images that can be evaluated in the project of a restoration and in the communication of teeth color and shade, and repeatable color evaluations, although the exact rendering of the color in digital images still has a slight discrepancy between images and natural objects. The visual method is more subject to variables instead. Keywords: Tooth color, tooth shade, photography, photographs, spectrophotometers