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ePaper created 2018-05-16, 11:45:19 | version 1.38.0
“If one wants to be a better dentist, one first has to become a better photographer” Q: What is the importance of being able to take accurate and engaging dental photo- graphs? A: Dental photography is central in dentistry. If one wants to be a better dentist, one first has to become a better photo- grapher. The best way to progress is to first- ly document all of the steps that one has followed. At the end of the day, one checks one’s material of the cases over a coffee to learn from one’s successes and mistakes. The problem in dentistry is that the patient is eager to leave after treatment, so the time to analyze and to make a mental image of one’s work is just a few seconds. There is no way one can memorize every thing one has done. One would lose the teaching value of one’s own work, so that’s why dental photography is one of the best ways to improve one’s skills, next to teaching and publications. There are then many reasons to document our work on a regular basis. Q: How has patient demand for improved esthetics, coupled with a generally slow econ- omy, affected the choice of treatment op- tions? A: The world economy may be in a reces- sion, but that doesn’t prevent people dreaming about a better smile. In this re- gard, composite is a great material because it can be used alone and in combination with ceramics to improve the smile’s ap- pearance. Doing everything with ceramics might be a little more expensive financially and in terms of tissue preservation; im- proving forms, proportions or color with composite for some teeth certainly is a way to obtain a better esthetic result. And there are many patients who can benefit from composite as an additional material. The time when we only used com- posite or only ceramics is over. I think it is a great opportunity today to learn more about composite and what it can do for esthetics. Interview Esthetic and Restorative Dentistry issue 2018 — 15