Clinical Photo Protocols
What to confirm before you take a clinical photograph
A short checklist for the consent conversation that should happen before the camera comes out, not after.
SmileSort Team · 10 February 2026 · 1 min read
Reviewed by SmileSort Clinical Advisory · 12 February 2026
Ask before the camera comes out
Consent for clinical photography is easiest to get right when it's asked as its own question, not folded into general treatment consent where it's easy to skip.
What to confirm
- That the patient understands the photos are for their clinical record.
- Whether the photos may ever be used for anything beyond the record — a referral, a case discussion — and that this is a separate question from taking them at all.
- That the answer is recorded somewhere it will actually be checked later, not just remembered.
Getting this right once, as a habit, is simpler than re-deciding it for every patient.