RSS Feed for Dental EquipmentCategory: Dental Equipment

Benefits of Digital Dental X-Rays

Teeth
Creative Commons License photo credit: Dan Harrelson

I have been enjoying the benefits of digital dental x-rays for several years now.  My patients appreciate the very limited radiation exposure, the ability to see their x-rays quickly on a computer screen and the time saved during their dental appointments due to the efficiency of digital x-rays.  My staff and I also appreciate the time saving factor of digital x-rays, but more importantly we appreciate the increased clarity and quality of these x-rays from a diagnostic stand point.

 

After copious amounts of research, we recently upgraded our digital dental x-ray system.  Though my former system seemed more than acceptable to me in terms of clinical precision, the enhanced clarity of the new x-rays has surprised and delighted me.  We are thus able to detect decay at an earlier stage, and thereby treat cavities more conservatively when they are smaller.

 

Along with the new x-ray sensors has come a software upgrade loaded with doctor and patient benefits.  This intriguing new technology allows the dentist to enhance images and magnify areas of concern for the patient to see clearly what the doctor is prescribing and why.  It even permits me to outline decay using a colored circle on the image.  It is important for me that my patients understand the need for treatment and the ways in which we propose to improve their dental condition.  I am excited and proud to offer this new technology in my dental practice and hope that my patients will continue to realize my commitment to quality care in the most conservative manner possible!

May 19, 2011 | 2 comments | View Post

Clinician’s Report – Dental Product Guidance

With so many competing dental product suppliers and material choices, how do we determine what to buy and from whom to buy these items?  One highly effective method is to research dental equipment and materials by attending a lecture sponsored by CR Foundation, available via www.cliniciansreport.org.  One such seminar supplied me the reference guide, Cutting-Edge Products for Clinical Excellence, outlining hundreds of product choices and contact information for the particular company manufacturing or supplying each product.  I consulted this list for many of my initial material choices in my current dental practice and continue to revisit it from time to time.  This outline simplifies the initial ordering process by centralizing a vast network of dental manufacturer contact information in one source.  It also serves to reinforce all the materials you will need to complete every dental procedure you will be offering in your practice.  The least beneficial time to discover that you need a dual-cure cement on hand is when the post is ready to be cemented.

Gordon J. Christensen Clinicians Report, formerly CRA Newsletter, is a periodical edited by Dr. Gordon Christensen, a pioneer in dental industry research.  Clinicians Report offers an online subscription option with full search and cross referencing capabilities of the past 30 years of CR test results.  This provides dentists the ability to search specifically for any product they are considering and consult issues related to its testing.  When opening my current dental office, I ordered two years of back issues of CRA Newsletter and made purchasing decisions based on my research.  This is a very practical tool as it eliminates manufacturer bias and reports only those findings of our professional peers.

Aug 19, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Laser Cavity Detection for Dentists

Today’s technology now permits dentists to diagnose dental decay with increased accuracy through the use of a laser.  The Diagnodent laser cavity indicator provides a handheld wand which the dentist can use in a manner similar to the traditional explorer instrument.  Instead of “picking” into the tooth, the wand is waved over the tooth and an audible tone is emitted when decay is detected.  The tone increases in intensity in tandem with the depth of the cavity.  A digital numeric reading is also displayed, consistent with the degree of the decay.

With the increased prevalence of fluoridation of water sources has come the propensity of teeth to mask or seal over actual decay.  Therefore, the surface of the tooth being probed with an explorer may read as healthy tooth structure, while the underlying tooth is actually being consumed by soft decay. The laser allows penetration through the superficial layer of the tooth and thus captures the true health of the tooth structure below.  This invention, though unfortunate for the patient hoping to escape the appointment cavity free, has enabled the dentist to treat cavities in their early stages, before a root canal or tooth extraction becomes necessary.  The dental laser for cavity detection is just one more tool in the arsenal of the dentist looking to provide preventative dentistry.

Apr 08, 2010 | 1 comment | View Post

Creating a Comfortable Dental Office Reception Area

Creating a beautiful, comfortable and relaxing dental office reception area will have an impact that cannot be overstated.  If the office design and décor are ideal, they will be a constant source of internal marketing.  When designing and decorating my offices, I took pains (and believe me it was painful at times) to create a peaceful, warm and inviting setting.  I wanted to avoid the typical medical office paradigm with its sterile look, feel and smell.

Patients often comment that they are put at ease by the more comfortable environment of a dental office that looks like a well-decorated home.  A traditional medical office with its white walls, uncomfortable waiting room furniture, sign in sheet and sliding glass window through which a stressed receptionist barely acknowledges people sets patients up to feel even more apprehensive prior to treatment.  Children who may fear the physician or dentist are put at ease by a waiting room that does not look like other medical offices and that provides activities for them while they wait.  This also makes their parents happy.

My dental office reception room contains paintings, a small water fountain, faux painted walls, comfortable furniture from Pier One, an open arch into the front office area and several large plants.  Skylights are positioned above the operatories so patients can relax while regarding the clouds, rain, birds and airplanes.  Arched walkways welcome the patient down each corridor.  A colleague in Washington State has a beautifully landscaped area of large flowers, bushes, plants and a waterfall outside his operatory windows.  Strategic placement of multiple windows helps reduce the feeling of confinement associated with the typical medical office aura.

When contemplating your office design and décor, consider all of the senses.  Reducing or muffling the sounds of dental equipment, lab devices and unhappy children can ensure a calming environment for waiting patients.  Installing speakers throughout the office will provide the patients with a distraction for their ears.  Using potpourri, candles, fresh baked bread or cookies will help overpower the medical smell that permeates so many offices.  Providing a variety of current magazines, photography albums, procedure brochures, children’s books and games, and a before and after picture album serves to entertain patients while they wait. You can win patients for life simply by providing an environment which shows them you care.

Mar 02, 2010 | 4 comments | View Post

Should I Buy This New Dental Gadget?

Dr. Jumper Vs. Dr. Keeper

One of the limited business lectures I received in dental school taught me the lesson of Dr. Jumper vs. Dr. Keeper. Dr. Jumper is the dentist who becomes enamored with every little pearl marketed to the practice, every piece of new equipment, new technology or new gadget that is promised to return millions. Consequently, Dr. Jumper leaps into these purchases and becomes the new best friend of any sales rep within a hundred miles. This becomes quite costly until the time that Dr. Jumper, if that time ever arrives, finally realizes that “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

In contrast to Dr. Jumper, Dr. Keeper is the dentist who one might consider “Old School.” This doctor is the one who never updates the office décor, never changes any techniques in response to more efficient technology and never buys anything the sales rep is selling. One of my patients described her former dentist’s office where the equipment is held together by duct tape. That’s a good example of a Dr. Keeper. Dr. Keeper resists the temptation to buy into anything new or different even when doing so would greatly increase the productivity of the practice. This also proves quite costly because from time to time, certain things come along, for example, computers, which can tremendously enhance business revenues while significantly mitigating overhead. If Dr. Keeper were able to clear the hurdles of discomfort and intimidation, the resulting net income from the upgrade would reward greatly for this fortitude.

The idea here is to be neither Dr. Jumper nor Dr. Keeper. The tenet expressed to us was that we should become dentists falling somewhere in between these two doctors. My proposal would be to become Dr. Analytical. This dentist blends the best qualities of both doctors while leaving behind those characteristics that inhibit practice growth and prosperity. Dr. Analytical effects cost control by determining whether purchasing the new product, service or fancy piece of new equipment will do one or more of the following things:
1. Make the doctor more money
2. Make the doctor more efficient
3. Make the doctor’s job easier
4. Make the doctor’s job more enjoyable
5. Provide patients a necessary service otherwise unavailable.

If none of these benefits is present, the sales rep can peddle those products down the road to Dr. Jumper.

Nov 23, 2009 | 0 comments | View Post