Many of the issues and conditions that affect the teeth and soft tissues of the mouth are preventable. Intraoral cameras are essential in preventative dentistry because they can catch small abnormalities in the mouth before they become more significant problems. Moreover, dentists can show patients exactly where oral care needs to be focused so they can use at-home oral hygiene to support dental treatments.

Intraoral cameras are often used in treatment plans for cosmetic dentistry because they show minute details of the tooth structure. The images can be enlarged and viewed on a screen by a dentist and patient so that treatment plans can be outlined in more detail. This often puts patients at ease during treatments.

In the past, dentists relied on 2D x-ray imaging or on visual inspections of the teeth using LED lighting and other instruments. Today, digital imaging is used more routinely to capture full-colour details of the teeth from virtually every exposed angle.