DENTAL PHOTOGRAPHY

One main factor that has helped grow our cosmetic practice is Dental Photography. 

Getting good at dental photography is important in showing off your artistic skills as a cosmetic dentist.  Also, When you review photos of your work you can see where you need to improve.  This ultimately enhances your clinical work. 

Part of growing any aspect of your dental practice is being able to show patients photos of your work.  This especially applies to cosmetic dentistry. Communicating with your lab by using photos is also essential to making your cases go smoothly.

Patients want to look good in their photos and are more apt to share if you learn how to take good photos.  I’ve seen that patients like photos with a soft look and when the lighting isn’t so harsh.  

As you get beautiful photos of your cases, you can build your portfolio to show prospective patients your work and also to show your before and after cases on social media. 

Having the right equipment and the right lighting will set you up for success. 

Here’s what I use:

Nikon D 7500
Nikon AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 85mm f/3.5G Lens
EMART 7ft Light Stand for Photography (2pk)
Profoto A2 Monolight
Profoto A2 Monolight
Profoto Clic Softbox Octa
Profoto Clic Softbox Octa
Profoto Connect Pro Wireless Transmitter for Nikon

Pro Tips for Dental Photography

Make sure teeth are clean and free of debris and lipstick or dental materials.

Give your patients a heads up and ask patients to get ready for the photo shoot.

Use Layout or pic collage to put before and afters together.  Make sure everything is cropped the same. Make sure the eyes and teeth are level.

Check light sources & flashes or adjust the F stop in order to avoid pictures that are too dark. 

Have the patient sit up straight, practice taking photos with the occlusal plane level. Don’t shoot the subject by being too angled down or too angled upwards. 

Center the target or subject in your viewfinder.

If you’re interested in building your skills as a cosmetic dentist, keep reading….

In My Dental Photography Course I show you how to elevate your photography to build your portfolio and showcase your work to prospective patients.

My Online Veneer Masterclass is one of our most popular courses, and for good reason. With the virtual over-the-shoulder experience, you’ll be able to watch and learn from me as I perform three porcelain veneer cases from start to finish in real time. And the best part? It’s approved for CE credits, so you can continue to grow your knowledge while earning you CE credits.

But that’s just the beginning. In my Social Media Masterclass, I reveal the secrets behind growing one of the biggest dental social media accounts, and how to use the platform of social media to bring in new patients.

In my Veneer Preparation Course I outline the exact steps and sequence I use for all of my veneer preparations.  This course will help  set you up for success when prepping cases for porcelain veneers.

 And don’t forget to check out my website for free downloadable resources.  We have 3 popular resources:  the smile design webinar, the veneer steps checklist, and the smile design & lab communication checklist. These resources will give you an in-depth look at my porcelain veneer case process, to help you to ensure consistent and excellent results every time.

So if you’re ready to take your cosmetic dentistry practice to the next level, join me in my online courses today! Visit https://drtejaspatel.podia.com to learn more and get started.

Social Media and Veneer Procedure Videos

One way that we have grown on social media is sharing the process and behind the scenes of dental procedures.  For our cosmetic dentistry practice, sharing veneer procedure videos online and on social media has been integral.  Porcelain veneers online videos are engaging.  There are so many steps in the porcelain veneer process that could be shared.  People are interested in what happens during the porcelain veneer process.

From the previous smile, design, temporaries, placement of the permanent veneers, post op smile, and everything in between, people want to see what really happens.  Without being graphic, of course.  These short videos that we’ve recorded of the porcelain veneer process have been one of our best social media marketing ideas and strategies for our dental office.  As a Dentist we’re always thinking of dental posts for social media and veneer procedure videos have helped grow our dental practice.

If you’re wanting to learn how to grow your dental practice through social media, check out our online social media masterclass at https://drtejaspatel.podia.com

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Free Cosmetic Dentistry Resources

If you’re a Dentist and want to grow your cosmetic dentistry practice and do more porcelain veneer cases, check out some of the free downloadable checklists we offer.

In my Porcelain Veneers Steps Checklist, I list every step we complete in our office when doing porcelain veneers from start to finish.  If you’re wondering what steps one of the Top Cosmetic dental offices follows, then check this out.

In my smile design & lab communication checklist, I provide you with the chart  I use to document each detail about our porcelain veneer cases,  so we can ensure consistent results with our lab. I use this checklist everyday with every case we do. I use it to plan cases, design cases, during the review of the temporaries and the review of the final restorations.

If you’re struggling with getting consistent results with your smile makeovers, then check out my free smile design webinar to help improve your results.

If you’re a Dentist and are struggling with getting consistent results with your porcelain veneers & smile makeovers, then check out my free downloads to help improve your results.

Visit  https://drtejaspatel.podia.com to find out more.

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No Preparation Veneers

When considering No Preparation Porcelain veneers, as Dentists & Cosmetic Dentists we must begin with the end in mind. Here are some case types and conditions to consider for No Preparation Porcelain Veneers.

No Preparation Veneers  Case Types
small teeth
even gaps or spaces between teeth
teeth that are set back
teeth are straight
post ortho
post invisalign
no fillings
no cavities
does not show enough teeth
good occlusion
no major signs of wear
wants thicker teeth
loves the look of snap on smile
wants bigger teeth
wants to increase the size of teeth
wants to build volume to the teeth

If you’re wanting to learn more about how to do veneers, the step by step veneer process, veneer preparations, and cosmetic dentistry CE courses, , check out our online Veneer Masterclass, smile makeover resources, and CE courses at https://drtejaspatel.podia.com

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Veneer Preparation Sequence

When prepping teeth for veneers. I use the following sequence:

Gross reduction

  • Arch form
  • Facial
  • Incisal

Finishing

  • Verify Draw
  • Interproximal Preparation
  • Clean margins
  • Soften Corners

Gross Reduction

Arch form correction
Prep the facials or linguals of the teeth that are out of the newly designed and ideal arch. I use a straight or chamfer bur to accomplish this.

After this is complete, you should be working with fairly straighter teeth and a more uniform arch.

Facial Reduction

Next I like to complete the facial reduction. There are many different reduction guides you can use. I like the 0.5mm reduction bur with 2 to 3 depth guards on it.

After this is complete, I use a thin chamfer diamond bur to complete the facial reduction and wipe away the depth markings.

Incisal Reduction

Oftentimes, when doing the facial reduction, you unintentionally begin to reduce the incisal edges as the facial surface gets thinner.
I will use the verification jig we have to verify the incisal reduction before I begin this step. I may even set the handpiece to a slower setting or use a less aggressive bur. I do like the donut/ flat shaped bur to help get a straight line incisal edge reduction.

Finishing

Verify Draw
Things can look different from your view versus your assistant’s view. Also, when you look from directly over the patient, the view and perspective changes.
Once my gross reduction is done, I then stand up and lean over the patient to get a direct frontal straight view of the preps. I want to make sure no facial surfaces are sticking out and I want to make sure my preps look parallel to the desired midline.
Take time here because it will help make your seats go easier.

Interproximal Preparation
Either you have a minimal prep, traditional veneer prep, slice through contact prep, or crown prep.
We get asked the most about interproximal preps.
If you are not breaking contacts, you need to determine how and where you want the interproximal margins. I generally think halfway or less through the contact area can work well. When prepping the interproximals you do not want to create undercuts otherwise seating the veneers will be more difficult. I usually have the bur tip slightly angled facially to help with the draw of the final veneer.
If you do a slice prep and break the contacts, make sure you maintain good draw and taper and parallelism to help with the seating of the final veneers.

Clean Margins
Now that the majority of the prep is complete, I’ll refine and define all the margins that I have created. This can be done at a slower speed or with a less aggressive bur. I’ll want to make sure to tuck my facial margin slightly below the gumline (just the tip of the bur) to create a good emergence profile for the veneers.

Soften Corners
The last step of the prep sequence is to make sure there are no sharp corners or angles that need to be softened so as to not weaken the future veneer. I take a needle nose bur at a slower speed or an enhanced cup to achieve this.

If you’re wanting to learn more about how to do veneers, the step by step veneer process, veneer preparations, and cosmetic dentistry CE courses, , check out our online Veneer Masterclass and smile makeover resources at https://drtejaspatel.podia.com

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6 things Dentists need to get started on Social Media

We’ve built a huge following on Social Media.  Here are a few things you need to clarify to Get Started In Your Practice. 

  • Need a Platform
  • Need to collect content
  • Need ideas and your themes
  • Need to put it together
  • Need to post it
  • Need to repeat this consistently

If you’re wanting to learn how to grow your dental practice through social media, check out our online social media masterclass at https://drtejaspatel.podia.com

Tips to help Dentists get started on Social Media

Whenever you start a new endeavor, a common question we ask ourselves is,  what gear or equipment do I need to get started and to get consistent.  

In order to incorporate Social Media into your Dental Practice, I suggest the following basic equipment to get started: 

  • Ring light stand with camera holder
  • iPhone® 
  • A room or background where you can film often
  • Digital camera(for your Before and After photos)

If you’re wanting to learn how to grow your dental practice through social media, check out our online social media masterclass at https://drtejaspatel.podia.com

Best Social Media Marketing Tips for Dentists

I’ve been using Social Media to build my Dental practice over the years.  Social Media has transformed my practice and broadened our patient base.  Here are my Top 10 Social Media Marketing Tips for Dentists to help grow your Social Media Accounts. 

  1. Follow industry leaders and influencers within and outside of dentistry.
  2. Research topics to get ideas for content.
  3. Document and create content specific for the platform.
  4. Create content that is educational, emotional, entertaining, or personal.
  5. Plan how frequently you will be posting.
  6. Post regularly.
  7. Find questions that people are asking and topics people are talking about.
  8. Respond to comments and research how other creators engage with their audience.
  9. Work with Influencers (and people who share and tag you)
  10. Create searchable content by using titles, descriptions and hashtags.

If you’re wanting to learn how to grow your dental practice through social media, check out our online social media masterclass at https://drtejaspatel.podia.com

Social Media and Your ROI

  • The way I gauge our ROI for social media is the amount of leads we get to our consultation landing page and the amount of DM’s we get from people interested in our services
  • We have to screen these people to see who is a candidate and who is ready to move forward and who is ready to buy
  • Brand awareness is another gauge as well. Hearing how we’ve become an authority in our industry from patients is valuable.
  • All of this takes time…..

If you’re wanting to learn more about how to get a solid ROI from your social media marketing and how to grow your social media following as a Dentist, check out our online Social Media Masterclass and other courses at https://drtejaspatel.podia.com

Turning Your Social Media Followers Into Your Dental Patients

Many patients have been following my account for over a year before they book a consultation. That means over a year ago, they saw something of ours on their explorer(search) page or that someone shared with them. Then they decided to follow us.

They liked posts, maybe commented, saw our stories and our feed posts. Maybe they even dm’d us some questions or comments. During this time we have been transparent with our fees, process, steps and shown off our work. Maybe they were waiting for the right time? Maybe they were saving up their funds?

I like to think they finally saw what they needed to see or heard what they needed to hear to finally reach out and schedule a consultation.

So my thought is if I keep producing content, there’s gonna be that next person that is ready to set up their consultation because they saw what they needed to see. Being Consistent over time puts you in front of your audience constantly.

If you’re wanting to learn more about social media marketing and how to grow your social media following as a Dentist, check out our online Social Media Masterclass and other courses at https://drtejaspatel.podia.com