Being a Dentist in a Digital World

It is an astonishing but easily overlooked fact that almost all of us are carrying around in our pockets devices far more sophisticated in computing power than any technology that was aboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft that first landed on the moon.

Today you can adjust and program the lights and heating in your home—even open and close the curtains and set the coffeemaker—using a home automation system you control from your iPad. Our cars come equipped with remote starters and features like backup cameras that were unheard of just a few years ago.

My point is that technology has infiltrated and integrated practically every part of lives without us really even thinking about it. We have come to expect sophisticated everywhere we go, including our dentist's office.

Of course that doesn't mean you need to buy every new piece of clinical technology that comes along in order to deliver great care. There are many good dentists who will say, I have been doing fine without all this new equipment, so why start now? In many ways I respect that thinking—it is true that you can't replace experience and skill with technology, and not every innovation is right for every practice. But there are many dentists I know—even long-established "old-school" dentists—who have come to embrace technology as a way to enhance the experience they provide patients.

They're the ones who use carefully integrated technology to help them tell a story, to take the patient on a journey and build a bridge from where the patient is now to where they need to be. They'll use an intra-oral camera to show the patient exactly what they see, then do electronic charting in front of them, explaining everything as they go.

Having made the patient fully aware of their current reality, they'll use imaging technology, integrated with digital x-rays, to create a compelling vision for what's possible, and to get the patient aligned with that vision. They use these tools to get the patient feeling enthusiastic about their possibilities and genuinely involved in their treatment.

These dentists will also support their case presentation with the strategic use of a patient education system, which automatically pulls up relevant education modules based on each patient's case particulars. At the same time, they create value for the technology they use in clinical delivery, whether it's a laser or CEREC or Cone Beam, to ensure that the patient fully understands the incredible benefits of these advances.

Again, no amount of digital wizardry can take the place of your experience or the clinical expertise you have developed over the years. But if you want to come across as a practitioner who fits the modern patient's idea of what a dentist today should be, you should be open to using the available technology to support your expertise and amplify your recommendations.

Great technology does not make a great dentist. But a great dentist knows how to use technology to create the best results.