First-time setup for Australian dental practices using Windows.
Moving your practice to Principle Dental? Use this guide to prepare your ProDENT intraoral camera, connect your supported imaging software and check that photographs reach the correct patient record.
Our recommended approach: Principle Bridge first; TWAIN only when needed. Start with Bridge and your practice’s supported imaging application, using a confirmed direct-camera capture option. Use TWAIN only when support confirms that the preferred setup is unavailable or unsuitable.
Preferred image workflow:
ProDENT camera → supported imaging software → Principle Bridge → Principle patient record.
Download ProDENT software | Get setup help
Before you start
Have your camera model, Windows version, workstation name and imaging-software name/version ready. Keep your existing image library and software licences until the migration has been checked. Start with one treatment-room computer.
Principle lists integrations such as Romexis, Sidexis, DTX Studio and EzDent-i. Ask Principle to confirm your software version and the transfer of intraoral photographs, not just X-rays. A listed integration is not a guarantee for every camera or capture method. See Principle’s imaging integrations.
No separate imaging software? If you previously took photographs only inside your old PMS, contact ProDENT and Principle before installing anything new. Have the teams identify the appropriate workflow; do not buy another imaging package just to follow this guide.
1. Set up Principle Bridge
Obtain the approved Bridge installer and pairing instructions from Principle or your authorised IT provider. Have them configure the connection to the selected imaging application on the required computers.
Open Bridge, then check the correct workstation in Principle under Settings → (Practice) Integrations. If the status is Inactive, resolve the connection before testing integrated capture. Keep Bridge running while using the integration.
To restart it, right-click its taskbar icon, select Quit, then reopen it from the Windows Start menu. Closing the window alone may leave the program running. Refer to Principle’s Bridge connection guide.
Bridge and camera capture have different jobs. In this workflow, your imaging application handles the live view and photographs; Bridge connects that application to Principle. Installing Bridge alone does not complete the camera setup.
2. Connect your camera and check the live view
Connect the ProDENT camera to USB. Open the imaging application confirmed for your practice and select the camera using its supported direct-video configuration. Keep an existing working camera setup where support confirms it is suitable.
If no picture appears, close other programs using the camera and test it in Start → Camera. On Windows 11, check Settings → Privacy & security → Camera, including desktop-app access where required. Ask IT to handle restricted permissions, and close Windows Camera after testing. See Microsoft’s camera troubleshooting guidance.
A working preview confirms the video connection only. The capture button and saving process still need checking.
3. Configure the camera’s capture button
Where your setup requires ProDENT Capture, install the appropriate package from our Windows Downloads page. ProDENT Capture supports camera-button operation in supported imaging applications; it does not replace Principle Bridge.
Use the configuration for the application that actually takes the photograph. Ask ProDENT Support to confirm it rather than carrying over your old PMS settings or assuming a Principle-specific profile is available.
Test the on-screen capture control first, then the handpiece button. If the on-screen control works but the handpiece button does not, troubleshoot the button configuration before considering TWAIN.
4. Take and verify your first test photographs
Use a practice-approved test patient record with patient communications disabled. Photograph a non-patient object during setup.
- Open the test patient in Principle and launch the connected imaging application using the control specified for your integration.
- Confirm that the same patient is selected in the imaging application.
- Take three different photographs using the on-screen control and complete the application’s save process.
- Return to that patient’s Files area in Principle and reopen each transferred photograph.
- Repeat with the handpiece button and check for missing or duplicate photographs.
Principle describes automatic saving from supported imaging integrations in its patient-profile guide. Confirm that it works for your particular intraoral-camera workflow.
A frozen preview or an image saved only in the imaging application is not proof of successful transfer. Each photograph must reopen in the correct Principle patient record without manual upload for the automatic workflow to pass.
5. Check patient switching and restart behaviour
Switch to a second approved test record and take another photograph. Confirm that it appears only under the second patient. Then restart the computer, sign in with the staff account that will use it, and repeat the full capture-and-transfer check.
Once the first computer passes, repeat these checks on every treatment-room workstation. Record the working camera, software and Bridge versions for support.
If a photograph appears under the wrong patient, stop using the integration and ask support to correct patient matching before clinical use.
TWAIN: the backup option
Do not install TWAIN as the default starting point. Use it only when Principle and ProDENT confirm that a suitable supported non-TWAIN workflow is unavailable for your camera and software combination.
For an approved fallback, support should identify the camera-specific TWAIN package and configure the correct source. Principle’s TWAIN integration also uses Bridge, so this does not necessarily mean removing or replacing Bridge.
Repeat the same capture, button, transfer, patient-switching and restart checks. A connection error or button problem alone is not a reason to change the capture method.
Troubleshooting
| What you see | What to check first |
|---|---|
| Bridge shows Inactive. | Follow the connection and restart checks in Step 1. Contact Principle if pairing or integration settings need attention. |
| No live camera picture. | Check USB, camera access and other programs using the camera. Follow Step 2. |
| On-screen capture works, but the handpiece button does not. | Ask ProDENT to check the button configuration for your imaging application. |
| Photographs save locally but do not appear in Principle. | Ask Principle to check the configured image-transfer workflow and patient matching. Preserve the original photographs. |
| Photographs appear under the wrong patient. | Stop integrated capture and resolve patient matching with support before continuing. |
Need help with your setup?
ProDENT: Contact our support team or email cs@prodentshop.com for camera, ProDENT software and capture-button assistance.
Principle: use the help icon at the top right of Principle for Bridge pairing, imaging-integration settings and patient-file transfer. See Principle’s support instructions.
Include your practice name, camera model, Windows version, workstation name, imaging-software version, Bridge version/status and the step that failed. Remove patient-identifying details from screenshots. Do not send passwords or API keys.
Last updated: 6 September 2026. This ProDENT guide covers a Bridge-first workflow on Windows. Availability depends on the camera model, imaging-software version and configured integration; confirm your combination with support. It is not a Principle certification or a claim that Bridge is a standalone direct-video camera application.