The Benchmark: Intraoral cameras

THE DENTAL ADVISOR’s Top Choices

THE SET-UP

Digital Dentistry has done more than open the mouth of the patient. With the popularity of digital radiography, the natural progression is to move toward full-color photographs instantly available and easily accessed in the operatory. Forget the days of rolling the large cart into your operatory to take and print an intraoral photo for your patient to take with them, or snapping a Polaroid picture to attach to the chart. Today’s systems are portable, light, easy to use and plug right in to your USB. Intraoral cameras are an essential piece in case presentation. Though they never replace an actual conversation, they are a critical piece. As trite as it is, a picture truly is worth 1,000 words.

THE CRITERIA

Ideal characteristics include:

• Lightweight

• Auto-focus

• Good image quality

• True plug-and-play capability

• Ease of capture and recall

CLINICAL TIPS 

• Turn away the operatory overhead light and rely on the illumination of the LED on the intraoral camera.

• Rest the camera on the opposite arch for stability. Then have the patient open or close to adjust the distance.

THE RESULTS

KODAK 1500 intraoral Camera, Carestream Dental LLC

The KODAK 1500 Intraoral Camera captures still images and video with high resolution. True auto-focus of still images and video, elimination of undesired light reflection, and automatic adjustment to lighting conditions further optimize image quality.

Additionally, the liquid lens allows instantaneous and automatic capture of still portrait, full arch, intraoral and macro views with the help of light-emitting diodes that optimize illumination. These features allow improved visualization of hard-to-see areas including cracks and other lesions and potential oral hygiene issues.

Selected comments from THE DENTAL ADVISOR’s Consultants:

• “Wireless feature is great!”

• “Highest resolution of any camera I have used!”

• “Auto-focus feature is terrific; it is a true auto-focus camera and reacts quickly to change in distance.”

• “Lightweight and ergonomic.”

Polaris,  Air Techniques

Polaris is a digital intraoral camera system (640 x 480 pixels) with direct USB connectivity to provide both power and data transfer, as well as room-to-room mobility. It features a low-glare LED light and fixed focus lens (allowing objects from 6 mm to 40 mm to remain in sharp detail), as well as a 330-degree swivel head for ease of capturing all angles. Polaris is designed to capture images upon release of the button for single-handed operation.

Selected comments from THE DENTAL ADVISOR’s Consultants:

• “Nice, clear images - releasing button to capture image is a great idea.”

• “Swivel capability, comfort for practitioner and images are nice.”

Look for the full evaluations of both of these products in an upcoming issue of THE DENTAL ADVISOR. Visit their website at dentaladvisor.com for more information on a multitude of products and equipment.