Frank DeLuca, Your friendly Benco Dental Representative
Technology, How do you stack up?
I had the privileged to hear Dr. Gary Radz DDS, of Denver, Colorado, speak on February 21st, 2009. His topic of discussion was technology in dental practices. Dr. Radz DDS's presentation spoke about a plan. A plan for success. A plan to be ready for the future and to embrace the future.
He states that when designing a new office that the office should be designed with technologies of the next 5, 10, and even 20 years in mind. The dental market is ever changing and will most likely be a very different place in 20 years. Space should be thought out so that the integration of these new technologies is possible.
Dr. Radz also spoke about dental equipment and what has helped him grow his practice. These pieces of equipment will help you grow yours as well. The following pieces of equipment will be discussed: Lasers, Caries Detection(Diagnodent,) Cancer Detection(VELscope,) Digital Radiography, Crystal Eye color/shade mapping, and Digital Impression(iTero and COS.)
Lasers
Lasers come in two forms, soft tissue(diode) and soft and hard tissue or all-tissue lasers. We are going to look at soft tissue lasers or diode lasers for the most part. This is a technology that all dentists should have, states Dr. Radz DDS. The reasons that all dentists should have lasers is that lasers are predictable, lasers minimize post-op sensitivity, lasers minimize sensitivity during procedures, lasers reduce bleeding, lasers reduce the need for sutures, lasers reduce scarring, lasers will replace scalpels and become the standard of care in the future. With laser dentistry you will also have the ability to market your practice as high tech and high comfort.
Lasers have a extremely fast return on investment, infact they should pay for themselves within approx 3 months. Do you still use a electrosurg? Imagine the delight of a patient that you used this dated technology on after using a laser for the first time. The surgery itself is next to painless and the post-op is drastically reduced as well. In some cases not even a topical is required. Imagine what your patient will tell their friends about their experience. Dr. Radz DDS reccomends the Kavo GENTLEray 980.
Caries Detection Devices
Dr Radz DDS states that the Kavo Diagnodent and Midwest Caries ID have now become the standard of care. They are proven, effective and income generators. He states that an explorer is a archaic instrument. Modern dentistry is about finding and treating decay as early as possible in order to conserve as much tooth structure as possible. Dr Radz states that it is much more time effective for a dentist to find a cavity early and have the option of using a small bur without anethesia than to have to work on a bombed out tooth. The smaller the restoration, the more saved tooth structure as well.
Oral Cancer Screening
Two great options for early cancer detection are the VELscope and the Idenafi 3000. This topic was of huge importance to Dr Radz DDS. He states that dentists can truly save lives with this technology and that this is also quickly becoming the standard of care. Dr Radz takes a moral point of view on this piece of equipment. It will have a fast return on investment however that is not the point. This product should be used in every practice because it is morally and ethically right and your responsibility. He states that many dentists do not find oral cancer early, by the time it is found it is usually due to pain. At this point the patient has taken their case to their MD and it is often too late. The fastest growing segment in oral cancer is young females due to oral cancer's link to HPV.
“More than 34,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer this year. It will cause over 8,000 deaths, killing roughly 1 person per hour, 24 hours per day. Of those 34,000 newly diagnosed individuals, only half will be alive in 5 years. The death rate associated with this cancer is particularly high not because it is hard to discover or diagnose, but due to the cancer being routinely discovered late in its development. It is also now confirmed that in a younger age group, including those who have never used tobacco products, have a cause which is HPV viral based. The human papilloma virus, particularly version 16, has now been shown to be sexually transmitted between partners, and is conclusively implicated in the increasing incidence of young non-smoking oral cancer patients. This is the same virus that is the causative agent in more than 90% of all cervical cancers.”
www.oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/
By adjusting your fees by as little as $5.00 per hygeine appointment this technology can easily be paid for in no time at all. Take a practice with a single hygeine room seeing 8 patients per day. $5.00 X 8 patients = $40.00 per day. $40.00 per day X 4 days per week = $160.00 per week. $160.00 per week X 4 weeks per month = $640.00 in additional revenues. Insurances are also beginning to cover oral cancer screenings.
Digital Radiography
According to Dr Radz and most likely many of your peers, digital radiography is already the standard of care as well. Digital radiography has many advantages:
- Speed of taking the X-Ray
- Lower dose of radiation
- Ability to manipulate images, size and focus, increased diagnostic abilities
- Speed and clearity of communication with specialists
- Many times your patient can still be in the chair while you are speaking with a specialist
- Clearly communicate with patients
- Save money on films, retakes, lost films, films stuck in the processor, removal of chemicals
- Save space – store charts electronically
Are you still taking films??
Crystaleye, shade matching
For dentists that are participating in cosmetic work and would like to produce better cosmetic work with less effort, the Crystaleye from Olympus is a sure thing. This product produces a digital color map of the tooth. There is no guessing and no human error here. The Crystaleye gives the lab the exact shade of the dentition in every area of the dentition. The included software offers comprehensive image manipulation, giving dental technicians the detailed tooth anatomy and color they need to fabricate natural-looking restorations. This will help reduce any redos or adjustments due to shade.
Digital Impressions
This is the future of dentistry. It will have a dramatic impact and will substantially enhance the way that dentistry is done today and in the future. With a digital impression, there will no longer be a redo due to a bad impression. Trays, dental putty's, and the mixing/preparing time associated with them are virtually eliminated with digital scanning. 360 degree visualization of the preparation area enable correction and confimation before the impression is accepted. Proper reduction will more easily be achieved. The files can then be sent electronically to the restoration facility speeding up the communication involved. No disinfection and or possible distortion of impressions is seen. Virtually all Lab problems are eliminated.
Patients of dental practices using digital impressions will become engaged in their dental work that is being created on the screen in front of them. The comfort level of these patients is also far greater than with traditional impression taking. How WOW is that? Digital impressions provide clinicians with incredible educational tools and also increase patient acceptance. Clinicians have the ability to evaluate in real time and make needed changes. This will also lead to increased referrals.
Digital impression also has a similar benefit to digital x-ray, storage savings. Impressions are stored in a computer and not in your basement. Models can be remade at anytime with the click of a button. A benefit that will also be seen by moving to digital impressions is a “Green” benefit. Less waste will be produced all the way around. Models, impression materials and packaging are a few.
Where does your practice fit into these technology advances? What are you goals for this year, next year, 5 years from now? I would love to speak with you about your goals and how Benco can help you achieve them.