DSD Photo Protocol
Frontal Picture Smiling:
*All pictures should be taken with good lighting (LED light or flash/softbox)

- 1 meter away from the patient (to prevent distortion).
- Camera at the patient’s eye level.
- Phone/camera straight (tripod devices help).
- Make sure that you can see the same amount of both ears to ensure that the face is not rotated horizontally.
- Make sure the patient does not lift their chin up or down when smiling (very common!).
- Make sure the incisal edges are not covered by the lower lip.
- Maximum smile with the arches at least slightly separated
- Patient should be looking at the camera.
- Make sure you put the focus on the patient’s mouth, this way it will be the sharpest area of the picture.
Frontal Picture at Rest:
*All pictures should be taken with good lighting (LED light or flash/softbox)

- 1 meter away from the patient (to prevent distortion).
- Camera at the patient’s eye level.
- Phone/camera straight (tripod devices help).
- Make sure that you can see the same amount of both ears to ensure that the face is not rotated horizontally.
- Make sure the patient does not lift their chin up or down.
- Ask the patient to make a prolonged ‘m’ sound with ‘lazy’ lips to get the best position.
- Some patients will struggle to get this position correct. You can record a video of them making this sound and then take a screenshot.
- Patient should be looking at the camera.
- Make sure you put the focus on the patient’s mouth, this way it will be the sharpest area of the picture.
Profile Picture Smiling:
*All pictures should be taken with good lighting (LED light or flash/softbox)

- 1 meter away from the patient (to prevent distortion).
- Camera at the patient’s eye level.
- Phone/camera straight (tripod devices help).
- Right profile (always!).
- Patient should be looking at the horizon.
- Make sure the patient does not lift their chin up or down when smiling (very common!).
- Make sure the incisal edges are not covered by the lower lip.
- Maximum smile with the arches at least slightly separated.
- Make sure you put the focus on the patient’s mouth, this way it will be the sharpest area of the picture.
Profile Picture at Rest:
*All pictures should be taken with good lighting (LED light or flash/softbox)

- 1 meter away from the patient (to prevent distortion).
- Camera at the patient’s eye level.
- Phone/camera straight (tripod devices help).
- Right profile (always!).
- Patient should be looking at the horizon.
- Make sure the patient does not lift their chin up or down .
- Ask the patient to make a prolonged ‘m’ sound with ‘lazy’ lips to get the best position.
- Some patients will struggle to get this position correct. You can record a video of them making this sound and then take a screenshot.
- Make sure you put the focus on the patient’s mouth, this way it will be the sharpest area of the picture.
Frontal 12 o’clock Picture:
*All pictures should be taken with good lighting (LED light or flash/softbox)

- Camera: take this photo with the patient lying down in the dental chair and you standing behind.
- Phone: take this photo with the patient sitting on a chair or standing. Ask the patient to place their chin near to their chest.
- Patient should be looking at the camera.
- Make sure that you can see the same amount of both ears to ensure that the face is not rotated horizontally.
- Maximum smile.
- Make sure the incisal edges are not covered by the lower lip.
- If the patient has wear, short teeth or long lip and incisal edges are not shown: ask the patient to lift their lip with their fingers in the smile direction until you are able to see tooth structure.
- At least the incisal edges from canine to canine should be shown.
- How do we know when we have a good 12 o’clock position? The tip of the nose should be at the beginning of the upper lip in this view and not cover the teeth.
- Make sure you put the focus on the patient’s mouth, this way it will be the sharpest area of the picture.
Video:
*All pictures should be taken with good lighting (LED light or flash/softbox)

- Repeat the whole protocol in case you need to take some screenshots of any position. This is also important to evaluate dynamics, function and esthetics.
- Make sure you record a short interview with the patient, talking about their wishes and expectations.
- Always ask positive questions! (What do you like about your smile? What makes a beautiful smile for you?).
STL models in occlusion:

- Make sure you do a good quality scan of all tooth structure and as much soft tissue as possible. Make sure the occlusion is the right one before you scan.
- When you are scanning the upper, it’s also important to scan the palatal area in order to work with the files.
For Further Information on The 6 Key DSD Photos