Evaluation of color accuracy and image quality of smartphone cameras compared to digital single-lens reflex cameras for dental photography

<b>Objective</b>. This cross-sectional study compared the color accuracy and image quality of intraoral photographs taken with DSLR cameras, smartphones, and smartphones with auxiliary lighting. <b>Methods</b>. Forty participants had five images captured per device, yielding 600 images. Image quality was evaluated using Blind/Referenceless Image Spatial Quality Evaluator (BRISQUE) via No-Reference Matrix (NRM), while experts provided qualitative evaluations. <b>Results</b>. Smartphones achieved the highest average NRM score (53.14 ± 28.2), followed by smartphones with auxiliary lighting (47.62 ± 1.9) and DSLR cameras (45.32 ± 2.2), with no significant difference between DSLR cameras and smartphones with auxiliary lighting (p = 0.34). Color accuracy (ΔE) was closest between DSLR cameras and smartphones with auxiliary lighting (4.89 ± 2.47), while other pairs showed higher differences. These two also showed comparable color consistency (p = 0.63 and 0.57 for <i>a; b</i> values), although smartphones produced brighter images (<i>L</i> = 50.56 ± 4.82 vs. 31.84 ± 4.82). Experts preferred DSLR images for caries diagnosis and presentation (96.7% preference), but found smartphone images with auxiliary lighting clinically acceptable. <b>Conclusion</b>. While DSLR cameras delivered superior image quality, smartphones with auxiliary lighting demonstrated comparable diagnostic performance as a practical, low-cost alternative in resource-limited settings. Further validation with newer devices is recommended.