Apparatus for dental shade measurement

An imaging apparatus for obtaining a dental image from a patient comprising:

• (a) an intra-oral retainer held in the patient's mouth for illuminating an area of interest, comprising:
• (i) a reference coupled to the retainer, disposed within the area of interest;
• (ii) at least one light source coupled to the retainer for directing illumination toward the area of interest;
• and
• (b) a camera for recording an image from the area of interest using illumination from the light source.

An imaging apparatus for obtaining a color measurement from a dental structure comprising:

• (a) an intra-oral retainer held in a patient's mouth for illuminating the dental structure, comprising:
• (i) a color reference coupled to the retainer, disposed proximate the dental structure;
• (ii) at least one light source coupled to the retainer for directing illumination toward the dental structure;
• and
• (b) a photometric sensing apparatus for recording calorimetric data about the dental structure using illumination from the light source.

A method for obtaining an image comprising:

• (a) coupling at least one light source to a support structure for illuminating an area to be imaged;
• (b) coupling a reference element to the support structure, thereby disposing the reference element within the area to be imaged;
• and
• (c) coupling the at least one light source to a camera flash mechanism.

A method for obtaining a photometric characterization of a dental structure from a patient comprising:

• (a) mounting a reference element to an intra-oral retainer;
• (b) coupling at least one light source to the retainer for directing illumination toward an area of interest comprising the reference element;
• (c) fitting the intra-oral retainer in the patient's mouth, defining an imageable area thereby;
• and
• (d) obtaining photometric data from within the imageable area using illumination provided from the at least one light source.

A method for obtaining a color value for a dental structure, comprising:

• (a) coupling at least one light source to an intra-oral support structure for directing illumination toward an area;
• (b) coupling a reference member to the intra-oral support structure within the area illuminated by the at least one light source;
• (c) fitting the intra-oral support structure in the patient's mouth, proximate the dental structure, defining an imageable area of the mouth thereby;
• and
• (d) measuring the color value from within the imageable area of the mouth using illumination from the at least one light source.