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What to expect from a PIC app capture
A successful capture typically takes approximately 7 to 15 photos and one to three minutes to complete with a patient. It is normal for it to take longer at first, as these average numbers come with clinical experience of the capture technique and following the best practices detailed in this article.
PRO TIP: If it's your first time using PIC app, it's recommended to practice capturing on models first to perfect your technique. There are no costs to test captures as long as the cases are not validated in PIC cloud afterwards.
Remove any cases or protectors from your iPhone
Your goal is to take sharp and clear pictures. For the best results, eliminate any extra gear between your iPhone’s lenses and the PIC transfers.
As a first step, make sure to remove any case, cover, or protective accessory that could partially or completely block the camera lenses. These attachments can distort photos and negatively interfere with the PIC app’s algorithm.
Here are some common types of protectors that should be removed from your iPhone’s camera lenses while you perform a PIC app capture:
Clean your iPhone's camera lens
Even a small smudge on the lens of your iPhone can affect the capture. Be mindful to check it before starting any capture, and also if you accidentaly touch the lenses during the process.
Before every capture, use a lint-free microfiber cloth to wipe any debris and fingerprints off your iPhone camera lenses.
Smudges can cause subtle visual artifacts such as blurriness and lens reflections, reducing the definition of the PIC transfers in your photos and stopping your capture from progressing.
Avoid light reflections
PIC app relies on ambient lighting. If your photos show a lot of reflections, harsh bright spots and shadows on the PIC transfers, the capture process will take longer.
Set up your ambient lighting before starting the capture. To avoid strong reflections on your PIC transfers, adjust the dental chair's angle or adjust your lighting if necessary. Turning any light source on or off in the middle of the process will affect the measuring algorithm and the capture progress.
PRO TIP: If you need to change the lighting during a case, it is best to cancel the current capture and start a new one.
Unless their intensity can be controlled, avoid harsh light sources, such as:
- Dental chair light lights
- Headlamps
They are generally very bright and can create strong reflections on the PIC transfers.
LED ceiling lights common in dental clinical rooms are often bright and soft enough to provide the ideal lighting for a PIC app capture. For best results, position the patient at up to 45 degrees or even sitting upright with their head facing forward to minimize reflections from ceiling lights.
PRO TIP: If your ambient lighting is insufficient, you can enable Torch Mode by tapping the settings icon in the upper right of the odontogram screen. This will activate your iPhone's built-in flashlight once capture begins.
Check the PIC transfers' placement
Correct PIC transfer orientation in the mouth is essential to achieve a succesful capture with PIC app. The main goal is to avoid PIC transfers from obstructing each other's dots while keeping them visible to the camera.
As a rule of thumb, these are the recommended positioning for the PIC transfers:
- The two distal PIC transfers (in the back of the mouth) should be oriented towards the palatal/lingual side.
- The remaining PIC transfers in the front of the mouth should face the buccal/vestibular side.
PRO TIP: It is recommended to combine PIC transfers Standard and Mini for easier captures. Standard-sized PIC transfers should be used for the two distal positions, as they're larger and easier to see. PIC transfers Mini should be used in the remaining positions in the anterior region, as they are smaller and will minimize obstructions while providing more room for placement.
Avoid placing PIC transfers completely parallel to each other. A slight 10-30º angulation as shown in the photos and videos in this article will help reduce obstructions and improve the visibility and speed of captures.
For more complex cases with multiple implants very close together, alternate their orientation to maintain visibility.
Check your focus every time
As changing angles can alter the distance between the phone and the PIC transfers, you must verify image focus before every photo you take during a capture.
PIC app has fixed focus, meaning you need to physically approach or distance the iPhone away from the patient's mouth to locate the optimal capture distance visually.
PRO TIP: Use the Focus Assist feature (the button to the right of the capture button) for a zoomed-in preview that helps evaluate focus. You can enable or disable it during capture as needed.
Use the closer-farther technique to find the optimal distance:
- Move your iPhone closer to the patient's mouth and watch the PIC transfer's dots until they become blurry.
- Move the iPhone slowly back until they are sharp, then continue until they become blurry again.
- Return to the sweet spot between these two extremes where the dots appear sharpest.
Repeat this technique before each photo until you get used to intuitively finding the right distance. It is normal for the optimal capture distance to be closer or farther than expected depending on the iPhone model you use.
REMEMBER: The PIC transfers' dots must be clearly visible and sharp before you capture each photo.
Pause between shots
Finding the sweet spot for your focus can feel challenging at first, but it just takes practice and, most importantly, a simple process: briefly stop between each photograph you take.
It may seem counterintuitive, but slowing down will save you time spent on multiple unfocused shots.
Don't rapid-fire photos. We recommend pausing after each photograph taken to re-check your focus and confirm that the PIC transfers are not blurry. Take one focused shot, pause, deliberately change your angle to a different one, check your focus, and then shoot once more.
Taking photos in quick succession without changing angles will slow down or even prevent capture completion.
REMEMBER: Shoot → Change Angle → Pause → Check Focus → Repeat
More angles = fewer photos
To speed up your capture process and ensure a smooth progress, prioritize a variety of angles over the quantity of photos.
The measuring algorithm will progress faster with a wider range of angles than a lot of photographs from the same or similar positions.
Move around the patient's mouth and change the iPhone's position as much as possible.
PRO TIP: Consider the space around the mouth as a 3x3 grid. Start with a frontal photo where all dots are visible. Then capture from the middle right and middle left, and continue with upper left, upper center, upper right, lower left, lower center, and lower right.
Make your off-center photos as angled as possible at the beginning while maintaining visibility of most PIC transfer dots. The goal is to keep all or most PIC transfer dots visible in the majority of photos.
It is not necessary for all PIC transfers to be visible at the same time in every photo for a successful capture. If you cover them all in the end through a series of different angles where they are visible relative to other PIC transfers, that should be enough to complete a capture.
For some angles, it's fine if some PIC transfers are obstructed—just ensure that at least two to three different PIC transfers have all their 4 dots visible.