For the graduating senior dental student and new practitioner, there are a myriad of decisions that must be made when starting or expanding a dental practice. In recent years, many of these decisions are related to the use of technology in the dental practice. The use of technology for many years in the medical field and the progression towards digital information in all aspects of our society has made it important for dentists to be in a position to make the shift towards digital data

The dentist who is starting a new practice or who is upgrading a new practice is faced with many decisions. Many dentists agonize over the choices in dental chairs, cabinetry, delivery systems, and a host of many other related issues. As technology and technology systems have become more commonplace in the modern dental practice, the need to incorporate computers, networks, and digital imaging systems has turned out to be one of the most important and expensive issues to be considered.

In previous articles in Dentistry Today (August, 2002, and November, 2002), I examined the advantages of having computers in the treatment rooms and specifically looked at Internet access and its applications in the operatory. While there are certainly many reasons for placing computers in a clinical setting, for many offices, space limitations have prevented some doctors from making this decision. Desktop computer systems are bulky and take up a considerable amount of space.

In the September/October issue of Dental Equipment and Materials, we looked at intraoral cameras and the criteria that offices should use in choosing a system. In some situations, however, the intraoral camera is not the ideal choice. While images from a good intraoral camera can be diagnostic, they are often not adequate for cosmetic imaging cases, communication with labs, or for documenting certain situations. In these scenarios, an extraoral (digital) camera would be a better choice.

The use of technology, and particularly computers, in the dental practice, has grown dramatically over the past 10 years. . A survey was issued in March 2001 by the editorial and research departments of a major dental publication to a random sampling of 3,000 U.S. general practitioners. 94% said they have computers in their offices and 29% indicated they have computers in the operatories.

Over the past few years, there have been a number of changes throughout the dental industry. Nowhere has the change been more pronounced than in the area of practice management (PMS) software. Recent consolidations and alliances have created the need for new and updated products. Many dentists have found that the software they purchased just a few years ago is now either outdated or was bought out by another company and is no longer supported.

There are few practices today that are running without the assistance of at least one computer system and dental practice management software. Most dentists have come to appreciate the convenience and additional efficiency of centralized patient data, insurance estimating, claims processing, treatment planning, financial tracking and a host of other features that are provided with a computer and well-designed software.