The world is going digital, and dentistry is no exception. As practices strive to stay up-to-date, digital technology can be incorporated into practices to enhance and simplify procedures and allow dentists to achieve the maximum return on investment in more ways than one. Newer technology allows dental offices to offer advanced, streamlined services, accept more patients, and provide treatments more efficiently.
Watch Dr. Joe Blaes, editor of Dental Economics, talk with Dr. Gary Severance, chief marketing officer of E4D Technologies, in this video.
The dentist’s multiple roles
During any given day, dentists wear one of three hats — clinician, manager, and practice owner. As a clinician, you consider what is best for patients. When you take care of your patients, everything else will be taken care of, and this is how you, as a clinician, can approach technology. As a manager, you’re responsible for your staff, so you can involve them from the beginning in decisions that affect them so they will be more receptive to change. As a practice owner, you can also consider what will be best for the practice. Digital technology, therefore, should provide you with a return on investment, whether through a monetary profit, new patients, enhanced patient care, or more efficient and productive teamwork flow.
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Asking the right questions
When integrating digital technology, a well thought-out plan that addresses the right questions can accelerate your return on investment. Are there specific objectives that digital technology can help the practice achieve? More importantly, is the practice staffed by the right team of people to help successfully integrate digital technology? It is critical that staff members have an open mind, are willing to move forward with change, and see the change as a paradigm shift in the practice.
Most changes, especially fundamental changes, can be good for a practice. But adding new technology will not fix underlying problems. Those need to be honestly addressed before incorporating something new. This becomes a great opportunity to recalibrate systems and procedures that may have been overlooked for some time. Incorporating new technology into a practice does not fix what is wrong, but it will enhance what is already working well.
Is the practice ready to start the integration of digital technology, or are other projects happening? You must be willing to provide leadership and focus to your staff when integrating technology. Integrating digital technology into a practice is a fundamental change requiring careful planning to achieve a successful return on investment. Practices should have specific objectives they wish to achieve, and these should align with their current missions and values, and staff opinions should be solicited and considered when making decisions.
Dental professionals should strive to stay educated on new technologies, seeing how they can affect patients, staff, and their practices. Finally, an honest assessment of the practice can help ensure that change occurs at the right time. These recommendations can help a practice flourish once the integration of a new technology is underway.
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Dr. Gary Kaye is founder of Kaye Dentistry PLLC, New York City. He consults with dentists and dental manufacturers, and lectures on ceramics, occlusion, and digital dentistry, with live patient demonstrations. He is a graduate of the Dawson Academy, Sirona Speaker's Academy, and guest faculty of Henry Schein’s E4D University. Contact him at [email protected].
