Polarised photography may sound complicated, but in daily dental practice it is actually a very simple and powerful tool. With the right setup and a basic digital workflow, you can get clear, glare-free images that show real tooth structure, not just shiny reflections.
This article will walk you through what polarised photography does and how you can use a few simple adjustments in your software to reveal more details. If you want to see the full process step by step, you can watch the first episode with Dr. Panos Bazos for free on Dental Photo Master.
Why use polarised photography?
In standard dental photos, we always fight with:
- flash reflections
- wet enamel and saliva
- shiny ceramics and metal
- specular highlights that hide details
These reflections make it hard to read:
- true shade
- color zones (cervical, middle, incisal)
- cracks and perikymata
- fine surface texture
Polarised photography uses a cross-polarisation system, such as Polar Eyes, mounted on the flash and lens. This setup eliminates most of the reflections and gives a matte, even surface. Suddenly you see what you really need:
- clean color distribution
- internal anatomy
- small cracks
- surface morphology
This is extremely useful for shade matching, communication with the lab and planning esthetic treatments.
A real clinical example
Imagine a patient with a complex natural shade: several color zones, subtle transitions and fine cracks on the enamel.
With a ring flash and a polarisation system like Polar Eyes, you take a series of polarised photos of the anterior teeth. When you open them on your computer, you quickly notice the difference compared to non-polarised shots:
- reflections are greatly reduced
- cervical and incisal areas are easy to read
- cracks and perikymata are clearly visible
The next step is to bring out even more information through a simple digital workflow.
Step 1: Import the image into your software
You do not need advanced software skills. A few basic tools are enough. Common choices are:
- Adobe Lightroom (Classic or CC)
- Adobe Photoshop (using Camera Raw)
- Adobe Photoshop Elements
Import your photos and open the polarised image in Develop or Edit mode. On the right-hand side you will see simple sliders such as Highlights, Blacks, Contrast and Clarity. These are the only tools you need to start.
The first view shows the photo without specular reflections. The color distribution and structure of the teeth with visible cracks is more present compared to the non-polarised picture.
In the Develop Mode in the Lightroom software, I have the tools on the right panel, which will let me control and change different settings. By moving the sliders left or right I can change the values of specific parameters. This is very helpful and can bring even more details into the light from existing photo.
With the next photo, I reduced the Highlights -100. Notice the change in the cervical and incisal area.
Another change is with Blacks reduced to -100. The photo becomes oversaturated with more visible distribution of the color in the tooth
In the last image, Contrast is set to +100 and Clarity to +100. This combination brings out the finest details of the tooth surface.
Cracks, perikymata and enamel texture are now clearly visible, and the tooth looks almost three-dimensional. This type of image is extremely helpful when planning esthetic treatment and giving the technician precise information about surface morphology.
GENERAL NOTE ABOUT SOFTWARE
There are many ways to adjust your photos in the digital workflow using different types of software. The most common programs are Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC.
The choice of software is up to you – what matters is using these simple tools to extract as much information as possible from the image and to better understand the tooth structure.
RECOMMENDED LESSONS
If you want to see this workflow demonstrated step by step and learn how to use polarised photography in everyday practice, we recommend the following lessons with Dr. Panos Bazos on the Dental Photo Master platform:
If you are not registered yet, we encourage you to do it now and enjoy the FREE content available on our Dental Photo Master online platform.
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