Technology is ever-evolving, giving us humans a reason to always want it and need it. Technology makes our jobs easier and even helps us do our job better than ever, so there is no doubt that dental offices can greatly benefit from updating their technology. Here are a few of the latest trends in dental technology that are worth keeping up with.

Dentists Are Going Digital

Not only are more and more dentists enforcing a paperless system of practice and patient management, but they are also using digital technology to aid in their procedures. More specifically, they are turning to 3D dental printers. These 3D dental printers enable dentists to create custom clear aligners, as well as veneers or crowns. Utilizing 3D printing helps cut production costs while also providing faster, yet high-quality service to your patients.

In line with turning to digital technology, many dentists are using intraoral scanners to complete dental impressions which are key to all major procedures. With this method, patients become far more comfortable and the process is much quicker, allowing dentists to move onto the more complex stages of certain treatments. Just because this scanner is quicker, though, does not mean anyone is sacrificing quality. As intraoral scanners are improved upon, they are able to provide precise measurements and shading to ensure each impression is as accurate as possible.

Dentists Are Becoming More Eco-Friendly

Ecofriendliness is a trend across many different industries, which is good because it means more people are doing their part in protecting our planet. Dentists can take advantage of this as well by incorporating more natural and eco-friendly dental products into their practice. Many dentists still give their patients a goody bag after their appointment. This bag usually has a new toothbrush, floss, and toothpaste. These can all be replaced for more environmentally conscious alternatives, which may be appealing for future patients.

Smartphones In The Workplace

Perhaps the emergence of smartphones has something to do with why technology is advancing quickly. Every day, more applications become available for smartphones, and websites become more mobile compatible. However, the applications you download do not have to be exclusive to your personal life. 

OrthoPhoto Dentist App for iOS and Android

Envisioned by dentist Kathy Nguyen, OrthoPhoto App is a smartphone application for dentists that redefines how they take braces progress photos of their patients. Rather than relying on a specific braces camera, uploading the images, cropping them, placing them in a slide show, and manually sorting them into patient files, dentists can now take their patients’ clinical images right on their mobile phone. 

The application automates this process. After dentists capture the relevant clinical photos, OrthoPhoto automatically places them into a template that organizes them in the correct format (crop, size, order) and places them in the designated patient file to help you save more time and become more efficient. 

It is never too late to modernize your dental office. In fact, since it’s still early in the year, there couldn’t be a better time to do so. Now more than ever it is absolutely necessary that your dental practice be modern to make it all the more convenient for your patients, simply because an outdated and inefficient experience will only encourage your patients to look for dental services elsewhere. Here are just some of our favorite tips to help modernize your office and subsequently create a better patient experience.

Tip 1: Spend Less Time Calling

Your adult patients are busy and they are the ones who need to be contacted for their own appointments, as well as for their kids’ appointments. In the past, dental offices would call their patients to remind them of an upcoming appointment. Today, it is much more efficient to send automated reminder text messages because the recipient can just respond Y for YES or N for NO, and with smartphones, it is very easy to click the date and time in a message and set up a calendar event. Your receptionist won’t have to worry about playing phone tag and your patients won't have to worry about forgetting their appointments in the midst of their busy life.

Tip 2: Upgrade Your Waiting Room

One of the easiest ways to give your dental office a modern look is to simply update its appearance. First impressions matter and the first impression any of your new patients get will build up in their mind seconds upon walking in. It's a great idea to update your furniture and do some paint touch-ups. You may consider investing in new, comfier couches and chairs, a new center table, some art, plants, and even accent pillows. In addition to making your reception area look newer, a comfier, more thoughtful setup may help some patients feel less anxious.

Tip 3: Invest in Dental Practice Management Software

Almost synonymous with modernization is going paperless. Not only does this make your practice more modern, but as a bonus, it also makes your dental office much more efficient. Going paperless can take a while, but purchasing and learning how to utilize a user-friendly management software saves time and keeps your team organized when it comes to storing and locating patient records, billing, and booking appointments.

Tip 4: Transition From a Camera to OrthoPhoto Dental App

Traditionally, dentists and orthodontists use a digital camera to capture clinical images of their patients’ braces progress. After they take the pictures, though, doctors have to spend extra hours after their last patient leaves for the day in order to upload the images, crop them, place them in a slideshow template, and sort them into specific albums and then patient files.

OrthoPhoto, which is available on the App Store and will soon be available for Android, automates this process so that dentists can manage their clinical images in a fraction of the time. Using your iPhone, you can take your patients’ braces images right on the application. It automatically places the images into a template that formats them correctly into their respective patient albums.

Ever since smartphones began taking the world by storm, it seems that there is a new app every day that either makes our day a little more amusing or more productive. Dental practices are naturally hectic and busy with back-to-back appointments. In order to make work more pleasant and the patients’ visits more enjoyable, here are 3 popular dentist apps.

3 Popular Dentist Apps

 

Dental Manager

Dental Manager is a mobile application for dentists that essentially works as a planner. With this dentist app, dentists can select a patient and add the relevant treatment plans to their file, along with costs. The application also allows you to send this information to patients via SMS or email, but you may also set up a phone call or print the plan. Dental Manager makes it easy to ensure you and your patients are on the same page at all times.

 

OrthoPhoto 

For dentists that also do Invisalign, metal dental braces, or ceramic dental braces, OrthoPhoto is a great asset. It’s essentially a braces camera that allows dentists to take their patients’ clinical images, which document their braces process as they undergo their treatment. Rather than utilizing a specific dentist camera to take photos, upload them, crop them, load them into a slide show, and sort them into specific albums and files, OrthoPhoto App automates the process. 

Using the smartphone app, you are able to take pictures of your patients’ braces progress. The application automatically places the images into a template that organizes them in the correct format (crop, size, order) and places them in the designated patient file to help you save time and become more efficient.

 

DDS GP

DDS GP is a great dentist app for educating patients in a more in-depth manner. This dental app illustrates how certain dental conditions may affect the patient over time. It also allows for a more customized educational experience by allowing dentists to draw on the images and save them so they can be moved to a specific patient’s file. Additionally, the app serves as a means for dentists to create and send (or print) customized treatment plans for patients. 

 

Dentists Apps Help Dentists Make Patient Visits More Pleasant

As a dentist, by having multiple smartphone apps at your disposal, you can make visits all the more enjoyable for patients who prefer more education and understanding when it comes to their dental treatments. Since smartphones first emerged, more apps have too, and they are a great tool for doctor-patient communication.

Efficiency is a struggle we all deal with, but the great thing about efficiency is that there are always ways to improve upon it. Taking initial steps almost immediately improves your team, as well as the patient experience. Here are some tips for ways to increase the efficiency and productivity in your dental practice.

1. Consider Combining Dental Treatments 

We often recommend that dentists combine certain treatments to save time. For example, it’s a great idea to combine dental crown preparation with other treatments that will take place so you can take advantage of the allotted time and get the most out of it.

2. Go Paperless

It’s no secret that filing cabinets filled with papers and other important patient documents causes clutter. When there is so much clutter to sift through, dental practice staff are more focused on tracking down these documents than they are on taking care of the patients that walk in and out of your office. 

Going paperless may take a lot of time, but making progress every day makes a difference. Before you know it, your office will be eco-friendly, digital, and efficient. You could start by putting new-patient forms on your website for easy access and go from there. Locating important documents will then take seconds and your team has more time to care for patients.

3. Scheduling blocks

Scheduling blocks are widely used across all industries because they allow for team members to streamline their focus on one kind of task as opposed to dedicating low-quality attention to their ever-growing to-do lists. We recommend that other dentists and their teams do this as well. For example, you may block out 3 hours in the morning for treatments only relating to Invisalign Clear Aligners and dental braces. These treatments could be braces fittings, adjustments, or consultations. Once your team gets in the habit of utilizing scheduling blocks, you will quickly find they get to spend more time away from the practice to relax and rejuvenate themselves, thus allowing them to come back to work more positive and motivated. 

4. Use Mobile Technology, like OrthoPhoto Dental App

There are many dentist apps out there that help improve dental practice efficiency and productivity. OrthoPhoto App is a HIPAA compliant application that allows dentists to take clinical images of their patients’ braces progress, right on their smartphones. 

The application automatically places the images into a template that organizes them in the proper format, and you can assign them to individual patient folders with ease. Additionally, the search function helps you search for specific records and delivers results instantly. Dentists and orthodontists no longer need to dedicate extra hours after the office is closed to handle a mountain of clinical images that document different phases in braces progress. Download it today on the App Store, free for a limited time.