CATEGORY 22 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST INNOVATIONS Clinical photography has always been an important part of my dentistry. It allows us to document treatment, communicate with patients and laboratories, teach colleagues and review our own work. But increasingly, I wanted something photography alone could not provide. I wanted video. A photograph captures a moment. Video captures the entire process—how tissues are managed, how instruments are handled, the sequence of treatment and how a procedure progresses from beginning to end. I have found this particularly valuable when performing advanced procedures such as implantology, bone augmentation and soft-tissue grafting. These treatments involve multiple clinically important stages, and I wanted a simple way to accurately document them as an additional component of the patient’s clinical record. The challenge with clinical video Historically, recording high-quality dental procedures has not been particularly simple. I have experimented with professional cameras and different recording configurations myself. These can involve expensive cameras, lenses, tripods, ceiling or wall-mounted systems and, in some cases, another person to operate the equipment. They can produce excellent footage, but they also take time to set up and can introduce additional equipment around the dental chair. Then comes the editing. Footage may need to be transferred, reviewed and edited, potentially adding hours to the process. I found that this meant I tended to record only procedures that had been specifically planned in advance. The spontaneous clinical moments— the interesting finding or simple technique worth documenting—were often missed. The penny-drop moment Then one day I looked at the X-ray unit beside my dental chair and thought: Why am I looking for another camera positioning system when I already have one? The dental X-ray arm is stable, highly adjustable and already positioned exactly where we work. That was the paradigm shift. Instead of adding another tripod, ceiling mount or wall bracket to the surgery, why not use the equipment that is already there? That simple idea led to the development of DX-VID. DX-VID is a lightweight mounting device that allows a smartphone to be positioned using the existing dental X-ray unit. And the camera itself is already in our pocket. Modern smartphones have remarkable video capabilities, with current devices capable of recording extremely high-quality footage, including 4K video on supported models. The concept therefore became very simple: Mount the phone. Position it. Press record. Documenting advanced dentistry One of the areas where I have found DXVID particularly useful is implant and augmentation surgery. A photograph may document the initial defect and another photograph the completed graft, but video can record what happened between those two images. It can document site preparation, graft handling and positioning, implant placement, soft-tissue management and closure. Video does not replace written clinical notes, radiographs, scans or photography. Instead, I see it as an additional layer of clinical documentation, particularly for complex procedures where accurately recording the sequence of treatment can be valuable. Naturally, appropriate patient consent, privacy and clinical record-management requirements must always be observed. Learning from your own dentistry Clinical video is also an excellent learning tool. Watching a procedure afterwards provides a perspective that is difficult to achieve while actually performing it. You can review your ergonomics, instrument handling, surgical technique and workflow and consider what you might do differently next time. Appropriate footage can also be shared with mentors or colleagues for feedback. For clinicians involved in teaching, having a library of real clinical procedures is invaluable. Video demonstrates movement and technique in a way that still photographs cannot. From clinical record to content There is also an obvious role for video in patient education, presentations and social media. Because DX-VID records directly onto the smartphone, footage is immediately available for reviewing, trimming and editing using the same device. This can make producing educational or professional social-media content considerably more practical. Professional videography certainly still has an important place, particularly when producing high-end presentations or commercial content. DX-VID was designed to solve a different problem: How can we make every day clinical video simple enough to actually use? Sometimes simpler is better For me, the answer was already sitting beside the dental chair. The X-ray unit was already in the surgery. The smartphone was already in my pocket. The missing component was simply a practical way of bringing the two together. DX-VID has made it easier for me to document advanced procedures, capture spontaneous clinical moments, review my techniques and create educational content without significantly changing my normal clinical workflow. Photography will always remain an important part of dentistry. But video provides another dimension. A photograph captures the moment. Video captures the process. u For more information and clinical demonstrations: DX-VID.com Instagram: @DXVIDAU Dr Michael Zaninovich, Founder, DX-VID Rethinking clinical video: A simpler approach to recording dentistry How my search for a simpler way to record dentistry led to the development of DX-VID By Dr Michael Zaninovich, Founder, DX-VID
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