Intraoral cameras build patient trust

Dental practitioners around Australia are embracing the proven benefits of intraoral cameras in improving diagnosis, supporting treatment decisions and increasing case acceptance by their patients.

The ergonomic and powerful Sopro 717 intraoral camera is known for its diagnostic benefits, with a powerful macro lense that extends way beyond the limitations of the human eye, giving a magnified view of up to 115 times.

This enables close examination of the external tooth structure and gum health, helping identify suspect cracks, pits and fissures for further investigation, often without the need for X-rays.

The Sopro 717 is also very easy to use, with pre-set "SOPROTOUCH" auto focus and an ergonomic grip and narrow neck, allowing it to be manoeuvred easily in the oral cavity.

The Sopro 717 can be integrated into the A-dec delivery system, enabling a visual insight to be easily shared on a patient monitor to help involve and engage patients in the diagnosis and treatment planning process.

Build trust

It takes considerable trust and belief from the patient side to accept when the dentist tells them that they might not only need fillings but may require an expensive crown or other complex treatment.

Suddenly they face a bill of couple of thousand dollars if they accept the proposed treatment plan. It sometimes makes it hard for the patient to completely trust the diagnosis if they haven't experienced pain or sensitivity - or if the issue was not picked up on a previous visit, perhaps to another dentist.

One such dentist reported that a Sopro camera saved his reputation when a second dentist challenged his diagnosis. However, when he was able to show the patient live on the video monitor what he was seeing tooth-by-tooth with his Sopro intraoral camera, it was simply a case of "seeing is believing" for the patient.

After showing the images to the patient and then letting them decide what they want to do, he finds 99% want to fix whatever they see. In his words: "a single photo leaves a better impression than a thousand words could ever do."

Sopro cameras also give the dentist or specialist the ability to view the tooth close-up in macro mode and from a different (indirect) angulation to locate a problem that is not visible when viewing the same tooth from above with the naked eye or even using loupes.

Taking diagnosis a step further is the SoproLIFE diagnostic intraoral camera which uses fluorescence to detect caries within the tooth that is often not visible to the naked eye or even on X-rays – and also the SoproCARE which provides a deeper insight into periodontal health and plaque accumulation on the tooth surface, without using messy disclosing solutions.

All Sopro cameras can be easily integrated into modern A-dec delivery systems to display on a chair mounted patient monitor or can be connected via USB onto any attached monitor such as laptop computer.