Dental Photography: Are You In Focus?

 

Dental Photography: Are You In Focus?

Despite having innumerable hours of experience with shooting I have met many dentists who pursue dental photography in the AUTO mode.

I have nothing against the use of AUTO mode but I feel there is a HUGE need for the dentists (AND OTHER MEDICAL EXPERTS) to understand that by using the camera in auto mode one fails to realize the true potential of ones DSLR (or other camera) The AUTO mode is nowhere close to what a DSLR camera can really achieve.

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It’s actually like a monotonous robot who fails to have a mind of his own.NO creativity, No BRAIN, NO Ambition and NO experimentation … what a dull life.

Despite being a boring mode to shoot in the AUTO mode has innumerable drawbacks one of the greatest drawbacks being the loss of freedom to choose the right focus point.

This post shall be helpful to all the beginners in dental / medical photography who want to understand WHY despite innumerable attempts they do not get a sharp image in any particular situation”

It’s invariably important to have a rough idea of the composition of an image in your mind, not a difficult job for a dentist considering we have few options for standard type of photography. (Of course if you would like to be creative Sky is the limit … but that’s not the point for this post)

 

We now have a set composition and a magnification to shoot at. We know the settings to shoot at.

 

The Next step is to focus accurately.

 

In semiprofessional cameras there is a box (actually meant for face recognition) to help you focus on the area of interest.

 

In AUTO mode this box tends to change place and even before the dentist knows the box shifts to a place which the camera feels is the desired region for focus and the result is a blurred image.

The reason for this is that the camera will focus on the easiest spot as soon as possible and this usually is a well-lit area with high contrast (be it intra oral or extra oral photography) this area need not be the area where the dentist wants to focus.

So is there a way the dentist can change the focus spot? The answer is yes

In semiprofessional cameras too you can switch to manual focus and manual mode of shooting and shift the box to where exactly you would want to focus.

Remember SMALLER the box … greater will be the accuracy of the spot where you would like to focus.

Speaking about DSLR we have a much professional way to solve the issue

Every DSLR has specific focus points (Number of focus points - 9, 11, as many as 100 or more)

A dentist can pre-select the focus point of choice based on the composition of the image in his/ her mind.

 

For e.g., selecting the top focus point instead of the center focus point might give greater sharpness to the central incisors which are the subject of conversation in the image.

The focus point can be easily selected using the main dial in Canon cameras. The focus point selected turns RED in the optical viewfinder and also on the LCD screen.

The only thing left NOW is to shoot … hey but wait a minute … we have still not finished actual focusing.

It is always a good choice to set magnification first in the camera and set the lens and camera to manual mode and manAnchorual focus.

Before pressing on the shutter release button one has to make sure that the desired spot is accurately in focus in the optical view finder

If it is not in focus at the desired magnification it is ALWAYS recommended to move your own position rather than change rotate the lens for focusing because that will again change the magnification ratio.

In canon cameras once we achieve accurate focusing the camera gives out a small beep and the focus point flashes red again when we HALF CLICK

(Half clicking is a very good habit that needs to be cultivated because this will tell us if we are correctly focusing or not)

I used a Nikon camera and surprisingly Nikon camera did not give out a BEEP in manual mode during half click – I was a bit uncomfortable with that.

Lastly we need to understand that Focus point is the center of an imaginary sphere (of focused area) Maximum sharpness is in the center and focus reduces as we come towards the periphery.

Hence we should always focus in a spot in between the desired area of depth of field

E.g If we want the entire upper arch in focus it is a good idea to focus on Canines rather than the incisors to avoid wastage of the sharpness in depth of field

Source : DentistFriend

Being Dentist: Let My Country Awake...

 

Being Dentist: Let My Country Awake...

They say- TO ERR IS THE HUMAN... but I think it’s not applicable for doctors..

 

An incident that happened recently in Pune is making me write this.. A 3 year old girl accidentally lost her life while going a RCT at a dental clinic. The media got an opportunity to raise their TRP'S; they declared the doctor as murderer & this ruling by media was without even knowing the facts.

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It's not uncommon these days..Death of a patient in a hospital/dispensary and that’s it..

 

Some opportunists nowhere related people will come over to do so called justice which includes physical abuse, destroying clinic as if the doctor has done it intentionally...I would like to bring to people notice that we are doctors & not God...even God have made mistakes isn't it...??? Few born deaf, dumb and with many such abnormalities...!!! How come people expect that doctor can produce results with every case... Human engineering done by God is sooo complicated that we are still trying to fully understand it...

 

 

To add onto it judiciary has included doctors into consumer act...

 

I don’t understand; whether we are sellers or what??? If yes, then why so much of noise when this seller charges for selling his skills? At one end you say doctor should serve and then you only make him a seller... how can a doctor serve fearlessly with free mind if he would be under so much of pressure every time?

 

People need to understand that amongst thousand cases one case MAY go wrong... In one case results may come compromised... that doesn't mean that doctor has done it intentionally...

 

 

Can a doctor afford to do wrong intentionally?

 

I wonder if same principles can be applied to judiciary also when lower courts decisions and higher courts decisions contradicts each other... 

 

Would you go to the consumer court for it...??? It’s not possible right..?? Coz then judges won’t be able to give decisions with fearless mind right...???

 

Same way doctors should also be exempted from this... not to go on killing people but to HELP THEM WORK MORE FREELY...FEARLESSLY...TO ENABLE THEM DOING WHAT IS NECESSARY THAN WHAT IS POSSIBLE... like they have shown in munnabhai na-" k form baad me bhara maamu; pehle patient ka ilaaj kar..."

 

This is not an excuse for non performance nor I'm telling doctors to play with patient's life..I am just asking people and media to ACT SENSIBLY.

 

Every doctor works for the well being of patient. If something goes wrong with the patient..then its the doctor who spends sleepless nights after patient's close relatives.

 

 

Which doctor won't like to have a smiling feedback from the patient?

 

Nothing would be gained from arguments & nasty behavior...  It will just widen the rift between doctor & a patient... LET'S CO-EXIST...!!!

 

We will have to understand limitations of doctor too... HELP US TO HELP YOU MORE EFFICIENTLY...BALL IS IN YOUR COURT...!!!

 

"Where the mind is without fear & the head is held high…

 

Where the mind is lead forward by thee into ever-widening thought & action...

 

Into that heaven of freedom...

 

My father..

 

LET MY COUNTRY AWAKE...!!"  

Source : DentistFriend

Dental Practice Marketing: How To Make Most Out Of Facebook!

 

Dental Practice Marketing: How To Make Most Out Of Facebook!

If you measure success in terms of number of patients walking in your practice and expecting quick results then this article is not for you.. I believe that Facebook is a platform that can help to build reputation & add value to your practice. You can leverage this platform and use it as Connect between your practice and patients.

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Won't you like to have a warm and welcoming Facebook presence for your existing as well as potential patients? If your answer is yes then go on reading...

 

Here are some Do's and Don'ts that you should follow on Facebook

 

A. FACEBOOK PROFILE Vs PAGE

 

Would you ever like to mix your personal and professional life? I'm sure you won't, then why not have a dedicated Facebook Page for your practice? Facebook Pages are for business, simple to create have several advantages over a profile and absolutely FREE!

 

1. A Facebook profile has limit of 5000 friends whereas there's no limit for friends/followers on a page.

2. If you try to approach unknown people via your profile, you will get blocked on the contrary with a page you can reach people who you think can be your potential patients without getting annoyed.

 

3. All your on page activities are measurable. You can even get accurate analysis for people who saw/clicked or visited your website which helps you to understand what kind of content your audience like. This feature is not available for Facebook profiles.

 

4. With a Facebook page you can delegate responsibility of sharing updates. The same page can be managed by multiple profiles and different responsibilities can be allocated to them. Your receptionist will be able to do this job easily with simple training and you will be able to track all her activities on page.

 

 

B. LIKES Vs ENGAGEMENT

 

You might think that Page Likes are important but as per my experience the emphasis should be on user Engagement. Here's my explanation for what I have said. 

 

We all know that one can buy Facebook Likes for page. Suppose you got 10,000 paid likes; now you will expect that whenever you post on your page it will be notified to all the 10K people who have liked your page.. but here you go wrong. As per the current Facebook algorithms your update will be shown in news feed of only 1/10th of your total likes. 

 

This means you will have to pay further Facebook in order to reach remaining 9K people who have liked your page. You will have to spend in the ratio of approximately 10:1 for Like: Engagement. So isn't it a better idea to focus on Page Engagement for which it takes only 10% of your budget?

 

 

C. AUDIENCE

 

The target audience differs from practice to practice based on its location, age group, class, specialty etc. While targeting you have all the options to target the post to a particular group of people.

 

In fact you can target your ad specifically to a custom audience by updating your database of either mobile numbers or email address.

When you spend on Facebook Marketing; make sure you hit audience that matters to your practice.

 

 

D. POST

 

Just like your profile you can share images, links, videos or even blogs on your page. As per the current algorithms Facebook gives priority to videos and it is shown in news feed of maximum users who have liked your page.

 

When you share an update be careful, people are too busy, they don't have time to go through long articles or videos; instead share short links of your articles or blogs just like I did for this blog. If patients like what they see, they’ll click to read more just like you. Also never scare your visitors by posting images/cases with blood field.

 

One more important aspect about sharing an update is the frequency, well that completely depends on you. You can share a post every day or every week as per your convenience but be consistent and avoid overdoing.

 

You can also schedule posts for a particular day and time which will make your job simple...

 

 

E. RESPONSE

 

If your patients or say potential patients are going to take the time to post comments and ask questions, you should take the pain to respond to their questions in a timely manner. If a non dentist is handling your page and the person doesn’t know the answer, then he or she should get the correct information from you and respond.

 

 

F. CALL TO ACTION

 

At the end of the day you will be doing it all either to add value to practice or to get more patient appointments. You have to decide what your goal is and place a call to action button and direct your visitors to respective place such as your blog, website or appointment booking widget. 

 

 

G. WIDGETS

 

You can place widgets on your Facebook page for online appointment, You tube channel, Twitter, Blogger etc. Widgets will help to engage your visitors further.

 

 

Important Note:

 

Online things change so fast that I can't deny the possibility that this article would get obsolete tomorrow morning. So I would request you all to keep your knowledge updated so that you can have strategies as per changing Facebook algorithms.

 

 

And One Last Serious TIP:

 

Do not invite your dentist friends to like your page

 

Because they are not going to be your patients ever! 

Source :  DentistFriend