Quality Assessment of Anterior Composite Restorations: Clinical Examination versus Three Digital Photographic Techniques

Objective The aim of this study was for the first time to evaluate of intraoral digital photography in assessing anterior composite restorations using a smartphone (iPhone 14 Pro), a smartphone with a lens (2IN1 Phone Macro Lens), and a digital camera with a macro lens (Canon Rebel XTi), compared to clinical examination, based on World Dental Federation (FDI) criteria. Methods A total of 185 anterior composite restorations were evaluated by calibrated restorative dentistry specialists. Restorations were scored according to the FDI criteria as intact, requiring repair, or needing replacement. Clinical examination was considered the gold standard. Photographs were taken under standardized conditions, and inter-observer and inter-method agreement were analyzed using Cohen’s Kappa and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results High inter-observer agreement was observed across all methods (Kappa = 0.928–1.0). Good to excellent agreement was found between clinical examination and digital photography methods for FDI final scores (Kappa = 0.775–0.973, p < 0.001). Photographs taken with the lens-equipped smartphone and macro camera showed higher agreement with clinical examination (Kappa = 0.973). Conclusion Digital photography, particularly with a lens-equipped smartphone and macro camera, offers effectiveness comparable to clinical examination in evaluating anterior composite restorations.