“The man on top of the mountain didn’t fall there.”
— Anonymous
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 I was looking for a way to show my technicians at Becden exactly which part of the shade tab matched which part of the tooth so I began to draw on a printed photograph. I really prefer to communicate via email, so I thought I would attempt to draw on the photograph in a graphics program and save the hassle of printing and mailing (which prevents the chances of smudging and wrinkling).
The photo can be taken with any camera but for this purpose I prefer my trusty little, fits-in-your-pocket 10 mega-pixel $200.00 model. The reason this camera works so well is that I shoot the shot directly through the color corrected magnifying light I purchased from Becden for $70.00. (Dennis’ comment – remember to keep the shade tab and the tooth in the same plane during your photography as Dr. Young has done here.)
To take the shot, hold the lens right against the magnifier and move in and out until it focuses, then take the shot. I turn the overhead lights and the flash off so as not to interfere with the light from the handheld magnifying lamp.
 Once I have the photos downloaded to a file on my computer I choose the one I want to use and open it in my photo editor program. I happen to use Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, because when I click on the thumbnail it comes up automatically – again, for simplicity and speed. It works great for simple editing, however, you could do the same with any photo editor. I choose the free-form draw function and circle the sections I want to show in corresponding colors on both the tooth in the photo and the shade tab. This technique works well for those who don’t have expensive digital “toys” a well as those who do.
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Draper, UT 84020 |
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The editor of this newsletter is Emily Webb of Becden Dental Laboratory, Inc. Please send any questions or comments about this newsletter, or suggestions for articles to: emilyw@becdendental.com
©2007 BECDEN Dental Laboratory, Inc. |
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Technical Tip: Shade Communication
