By Cuong To

My name is Cuong To and I am currently a fourth-year dental student at Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Dentistry. I was introduced to dental photography during my second year in dental school and immediately was amazed by how much detail high-quality photos can offer. I began learning and practicing dental photography, including everyday-clinical photos, AACD Accreditation photos, macro photos, and artistic lip photos.

While there are many applications of photography in dentistry, my focus was on the use of lip photography in diagnosis, treatment planning, and as an art. 

Here is a sample of my recent work:

A perfect composite restoration, under naked eyes or even 4.5x magnification loupes, may not be as perfect as it seems until that restoration is critiqued using high-quality photos taken by a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR). You may not see little blemishes, voids, and imperfection of your works. However, with photos taken by a DSLR, you can see them all. Dental photography has opened my eyes up to scrutinize my works, train my eyes, and perfect my skills.

The AACD aims to create an outlet for undergraduate and postgraduate students to share their scientific findings and to promote greater interaction within the dental community. The benefits of AACD membership are numerous, to both students and dental professionals. To explore the benefits of AACD membership, click here. 

If you are an AACD Student member with work you would like to share, email katien@aacd.com.