An intraoral camera is a camera which is designed to be used in the mouth for the purpose of taking video or still photography. These cameras are most commonly used in dental offices, although patients can also use them at home to monitor dental health or to satisfy curiosity about what the inside of the mouth looks like. Several firms specialize in producing intraoral cameras and accessories, and others make adapters which can be used with conventional cameras so that they can be used in the mouth.

Advantages of IntraOral Cameras:

Instant: you can instantly see what we see as we investigate your teeth, and also what we do when we work on them
Accurate: we can take a picture of the inside of your mouth for a bigger and better look, and it really helps to track any changes over time
Easy referrals or second opinions: if we need to get another opinion from a specialist, we can easily take a photo and email it to them
Memory jogger: we store these images on your dental record to compare back to later – a great way to really track erosion, staining
Better planning: together we can discuss the best treatment plan for you as we go – you then decide how to proceed
Learn more: it is a great educational tool to show you exactly what is going on in your mouth… rather than our dentists merely trying to describe it to you in words!

One of the primary uses for an intraoral camera is in patient education. Dentists often find it helpful to be able to show patients exactly what is going on inside their mouths, and to highlight areas where medical attention may be needed. Patients are also less likely to defer or refuse procedures when they can clearly see the area at issue, as some people are suspicious of recommendations for dental procedures, due to concerns about cost, potential pain, or the fears about members of the dental profession.

In addition to being used in patient education, such cameras can also be used to take clear visual records for patient files, and to generate material which can be used in consultations and discussions with other dental providers. For example, a general dentist might use an intraoral camera to take images of a tooth or area of the jaw which requires oral surgery so that a maxillofacial surgeon can examine the information before he or she meets the patient to get an idea of the kind of surgery which might be required.

Images taken by an intraoral camera can also be reviewed later, which can be useful for a dentist who feels a nagging suspicion that something is not quite right in the mouth of a patient. The intraoral camera can also be used to document procedures for legal and educational reasons, and to create projections of a patient’s mouth which can be used in medical schools for the purpose of educating future dentists about various issues which pertain to oral health.