Technology & Today’s Dental Practice

I’m writing this as I sit in the offices of El En, the parent company of DEKA Lasers, in Florence Italy learning about future technologies they are bringing to market for dentistry and medicine. These few days has me reviewing how I am using technology to provide better quality care for my patients and increase the effectiveness and efficiency of what I do. There are some basic decision points when we look at incorporating any new technology in our offices. Each one has a learning curve and requires us to invest time to become proficient, they also have a cost of entry and a unique return on investment. One of the considerations in addition to using technology to increase treatment quality we have to consider how it can pay for itself based on increased productivity, replace other expenses, or increase efficiency and drive productivity. Each of us has to balance all of these considerations and chose the technologies that are a fit for our offices, but I must say my experience is always appreciation for what the new technologies add to my practice and not regret over the expense.

So what new technologies are in your future:

• Digital Radiography
• Lasers
• CAD CAM
• Digital Impressions
• Cone Beam
• Caries Detection

Now, as you consider this list, and may be finding yourself resisting some of the items included, remember at one point ultrasonic scaling was considered an emerging technology.