Remember when the Canon 10D was the hottest digital camera in dentistry. Now there is a 50D !

Canon DSLR Model Mania Continues As The 50D Is Introduced - Gearlog.

New Live DENTRIX Webinars
Dentrix is pleased to bring you a new series of Webinars happening every Friday throughout July. These online trainings will cover specific topics to help users get the most out of Dentrix’s powerful features. More.

Dentrix Dental Practice Management Software Systems.

Speed:

Enhancement: Digital images can be enhanced or manipulated. If you have a flawed digital image you can use image management software to correct the image in a matter of seconds. You can also use the image management software to zoom in on a specific area, crop the image properly or to alter the color or contrast to enhance diagnostic efficiency.

Duplication and Transmission: Digital images can be copied electronically and transmitted instantly. To send a digital image to the patient a colleague or third party you simply click the image and send it. It literally lakes seconds, goes to the recipient instantly and costs nothing. Compare that to sending a copy of a traditional photo. First the photo must be copied, which usually takes several days. There will be a cost in film and reproduction fees. Then it must be put in an envelope and mailed. The recipient will get it a day or more later and there will be additional costs with paper, envelopes and postage.

Storage: Digital Images can be stored electronically as part of the digital patient record. Compare this to paper photos which need to have the name and dates written on them; they can be misplaced, bulge out the chart and turn yellow with age. (electrons do not turn yellow with age.)

Monitors need to be positioned so that the assistant can access it easily to input data, such as chairside charting, while maintaining contact with the dentist and patient. They also need to be close enough for the dentist to view radiographs or photos for diagnosis, or to read the chart. And finally they need to be in a position that the patient can view them to see their own photos, slide shows or patient education programs.

In addition there is the patient / practice issue. Sometimes you just don’t want the patient seeing what is displayed.

One solution to this problem is a movable monitor on a bracket or arm. The problem with this solution is that like all movable equipment it is never where you want it and moving it to the proper position takes time, breaks asepsis and tends not to get done. Also the brackets needed to support the equipment often cost more than the computer. For example the very elegant under chair radius arms sell for $1,100. You could buy three monitors or a whole new computer for the cost of the bracket.

The second solution is multiple monitors. One, the practice monitor, placed at the 12 to 2 o’clock position for the assistant and two, the patient monitor, placed at 5 or 9 o’clock for the patient and dentist. The practice monitor can be small 17″. The patient monitor will be used for patient display and should be large and impressive, 19″ or bigger.

While there are several groups who specialize in dental web page design, and a multitude of young folk who are designing websites for dentists in various cities and areas of the country, they tend to emphasize certain design guidelines as well as website content, and de-emphasize what is really important to patients in looking for a practice on the web.
The same rules of advertising in any medium apply to the website. Perhaps the most significant difference of web marketing is that the volume of material you can put in a website is significantly greater than is financially affordable in other formats. That being said, there IS such a thing as too much information!

Today’s flash drives max out at 128 gigs, but using these processes, SanDisk believes it will deliver up to 500 gigs—and maybe even more.
The other thing that came out loud and clear is that flash drives (that’s solid-state drives, or SSDs) will become ubiquitous in products like laptop computers. Today, almost all laptops sport hard drives, and that won’t change anytime soon. In fact, I believe that they will always be an important option. But if flash drives ride the cost curve down and become yet more affordable, they could become a very important storage medium for portable computing.

SSDs and Sneakernets: Flash Memory’s New Role - Columns by PC Magazine.

The fact is that it is possible to create a completely paperless dental record. And going paperless can save you tens of thousands of dollars.

My comprehensive technology guide, “How to go paperless in the dental office” will answer the basic question…Why bother? It then provides step by step help in setting up a paperless office, including the eight essentials that need to be in place before you get started, four ways to digitize stuff, and front deskless workflow. There is even a budget and financial analysis that shows how your current paper system is costing you over $40,000!

“How to go paperless in the dental office” will answer all your questions, provide a plan and show you how to save money… all delivered in a fun and easy to understand style. Click the link for more.

Going Paperless.

Windows is like a real-time strategy game. You can do everything with the mouse, but you’ll be so much better at it if you learn the keyboard shortcuts.

Windows Keyboard Shortcuts: Hands Off the Mouse! - OS, Software & Networking by ExtremeTech.

In my experience, sensors are usually more comfortable than film.

Radiography - Digital versus film
Dental Products Report polled GP’s in 2005 on radiography preferences. Eighty per cent are using film based systems. Four per cent plan on buying a film based system versus 18 per cent that are planning on buying a digital system. 49 per cent say sensors are uncomfortable.

Radiography - Digital versus film.

At the WealthyDentist.com, a recent survey reveals that over half of the dentists who responded have completely or partially stopped accepting dental insurance. The 44% who claim that they only partially work with insurance companies may mean that they are not in network with any insurance company, but they will file claims as a courtesy. They may or may not accept the patient’s copay or deductible.

55% of Responding Dentists Have Partially or Fully Stopped Taking Insurance.