Techalyzer

According to John Meiss, author of the much circulated “Something Simple” Series for dental practictioners there are three things that dentists need to know when it comes to acquiring new technology to make your dental practice more appealing to your patients.

The first thing that you need to learn is that it is usually the tired generation of a new technology that is the most affordable. If you want to save money wait until the third generation of the product is released as by then not only has the design of the technology been improved (because all of the bugs have been worked out) but also the novelty has worn off so the product is immensely more affordable. It loses what Meiss calls its “cool factor” and does not, as a result cost near as much.

The second thing that you need to know about technology is to never let it control your practice. Your technology should never drive any of your processes including your treatment processes or your communication processes. You need to be in control. This type of technology should only be used to drive the processes that you currently have in place now.

Unfortunately some dentists become obsessed with gadgets and dentistry is a business that is full of all kinds of tempting, yet expensive gizmos. It is a mistake to use technology for technology’s sake. This does not impress anyone including the patients. To be worth it the gizmo or gadget or flashy new piece of technology must serve some kind of efficient or effective purpose or it can throw your entire dental practice off course.

Meiss talks about how he bought a CEREC machine, which is used for making veneers. He became enamored of the gadget but it took a long time for him to admit that the veneers that it made were not as great as the ones made using the simple stacking process that were sent off to the labs. Furthermore they took hours and hours to make whereas just having them made in a lab produced faster, more predictable results. The point is that you must ask yourself if the technology that you want to buy is the best use of that particular piece of equipment and if it is the best use of any money that you may have put away to invest in new equipment for your dental practice.

The third thing that Meiss recommends with regards to technology is to find a gadget guy. A gadget guy is that person who is efficient, productive and tries every gadget on the market so you don’t have to. This is that good friend or colleague of yours who must have one of every new thing on that market. Let him make the mistakes and then show you what works.

It is also important for dentists to get together and exchange their thoughts about what technology is working for them and what is not. This could save everyone a lot of money and help dentists become much more productive and effective healers.

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