Hello all.
I have submitted my photography assignment now but I can still think of a few things to say (lucky you eh?)
Firstly, Luke raised a good point in his recent comment. It is important to take care of your patient while taking dental photographs. It is all too easy to get absorbed in the process of setting up the perfect shot and forget that you are photographing an actual person, who probably has no idea what is going on!
My photography group has critiqued each other’s ‘bedside manner’ during our various sessions. We have found that it is a good idea to keep talking to the patient while the photos are being taken. This shows to the patient that the operator has not forgotten about them. Saying things like “I know this probably isn’t very comfortable for you” and “I appreciate you putting up with this” shows that the operator is thinking about the patient’s comfort and is trying to avoid unnecessary discomfort.
The operator may also explain the photography process to a curious patient. If the patient understands why they need to have a large mirror put in their mouth, they may be more likely to tolerate it.
Like Luke mentioned, it can also be a good idea to say how many more photos you plan to take before the patient can rest, and count down these photos as you take them. It is obvious that during dental photography the patient is taken out of their comfort zone. By giving the patient a better idea of how much longer they need to stay in position can prevent unnecessary anxiety. It may even encourage the patient to put up with the discomfort a little longer to complete the countdown.
Finally, allow the patient to have a break if/when they require one. Establish how the patient is feeling and ask for their permission before continuing. If the patient is interested, the operator may even decide to show the patient some of the photographs on the camera’s screen. Making the patient feel more in control of the situation may reduce their anxiety and increase their level of cooperation.
Thanks. As always I hope this helps!
Nick
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6 comments:
Hi everyone,
I just had a few questions about the photography assignment. Firstly, when using the setting on the camera, did anyone use the manual focus setting or did you mainly stick to the auto focus?
Acasia was talking about those three questions we have to answer for each photo, I think they included- what difficulties we had when taking the photo, how it could be improved and what strategies we could use. Do these questions have to be answered for all the photos or just the set that we critiqued?
Hi All
You need to document the settings you used in your critiques, if they were auto then just mention auto, if they were manual, its a great idea to list the settings you used.
Secondly the 3 questions that you are referring to will be answered by default when you critique your images. You only need to critique ONE complete set of photos.
Hope this clarifies...
Sophie
very well said Nick!
A couple other comfort points I can think of to add include:
Vaseline - A good dollop will help ensure pt comfort and aid with manipulating mirrors and retraction devices with otherwise dry lips.
Point 2 - Try letting the pt hold the mirrors if they are experiencing discomfort (especially on lateral views. This strategy was used by all whom were in my photography group and we all agreed that this was a winner.
I gave my actual pt the opportunity of holding the mirrors for lateral views and the pt was much relieved in doing this. On that note, I can say that my pt has a very high pain threshold. I did not take advantage of this, rather I could see that the mirrors were impinging on the soft tissues. I offered the pt the kinder approach that my colleagues and I had somewhat founded on each other and pt satisfaction was acknowledged directly.
ps. A BIG THANKS to Jasmina for assisting with my pt Clinical photography intra-oral photos. You helped make it a very nice experience for my pt. Cheers!
Its great to see you all blogging some great pointers!!! Rachel can't seem find her post as she thinks its not coming up. When one of you great people see her next, could someone let her know that her posts are coming up under the comments window ... perhaps she is not clicking on the link..
One of Luke's personal techniques is to use the word 'blast-off' at the end of his countdown in order to take one extra shot!
I'm sure he'll get the Nobel Prize in medicine for that one! :)
I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Luke, Jasmina and Jen Cao for their cooperation, advice and willingness to make appointments in their own time to that photos as a group. You guys are awesome!
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