Dr. Lorne Lavine Dental Technology Consultants Printer Friendly Version

Digital X-Ray Revisited, Part I

The look and feel of the modern dental practice has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. Systems that were once paper-based have now moved into the digital realm. There’s no doubt that technology has been the driving force in many of the dental advances over the past few years. This is as true in other fields as it has been in dentistry. In the early 1990’s, intraoral cameras were all the rage. In the late 90’s, it was digital cameras. And, at present, no other topic seems to generate greater interest than digital radiography. While entire books can be written on the subject, the goal for this article is to focus on how digital radiography can improve the profitability of the practice, particularly by improving case acceptance. In part II, which will be published in a few weeks, we'll take a closer look at the infrastructure this is required as this is often overlooked by many practices.

Having worked with hundreds of offices who have installed digital radiography, the biggest hurdle to adopting this technology is financial. While the initial costs are high, there is little doubt that using digital radiography can definitely help the bottom line of the practice by increasing patients’ willingness to come to the practice and accept treatment. There are a number of key areas where digital radiography makes sense:

1. There is no doubt that in order to increase case acceptance, we have to improve our ability to diagnose disease. The vast majority of dental practices find digital radiography to be superior to film. In a recent survey in DentalTown magazine, over 73% of the respondents claimed that they found digital radiography to be more diagnostic than film. There are a few reasons for this. First, there’s a big difference between seeing a life size image which is around 1” vs. an image magnified to fill up a typical 17” or 19” screen. Secondly, and just as importantly, all digital radiography software gives us incredible tools to improve diagnostics. There are a few programs that really simplify this process. For example, XDR, a smaller company from the Los Angeles area, offers a “caries” icon and a “perio” icon. One click of the icons will apply numerous filters and enhancements to bring out the diagnostic features of the image with minimal muss and fuss.

2. A practice that is efficient and saves time will be very attractive to your patient base, many who are busy and would prefer to minimize the time spent in the office. The time savings with digital radiography are quite significant. However, it’s important to understand that the time savings are limited to the hard sensors. Phosphor plate systems, while an excellent option for many offices, do not provide any time savings over traditional film. Many offices can start and finish a full mouth series of radiographs in well under 10 minutes, allowing patients to get in and out of the office quicker.

3. Another key feature of digital radiography is the fact that you can reduce the exposure time of the radiographs. This can be a big selling point for current and future patients. One thing to be cautious of is that many vendors still claim unrealistic amounts of exposure reduction. When digital radiography was first introduced, film was much slower and their claims of 80-90% reduction in exposure were accurate. However, over the past 15 years the speed of film has greatly increased, and many offices are now using E speed film. While offices using digital radiography should still expect a reduction, it’s closer to 30-50% over film.

4. Probably the biggest selling point of digital radiography for case acceptance is the concept of co-diagnosis. In the past, patients had to rely on their trust of the practice and the dentist to proceed with dental treatment. In many cases, their conditions were not apparent to them, they did not have any associated pain, and patients often were unaware of their dental problems. While we often tried to show patients the x-rays on a viewbox, this is really not ideal for most people as they have trouble seeing the problems. Digital radiography changes all of that. Now, dental problems that show up in a radiograph can be viewed on a 17” or 19” screen, and the patients, for the first time, can see exactly what we as dental professionals can see. Once they see and understand their condition, they will be far more accepting of our treatment plans, as there will be no doubt in their mind about the status of their condition.

Lorne Lavine, DMD is the Founder and President of Dental Technology Consultants. Dr. Lavine holds two prestigious certifications, the A+ Certified Technician designation and the Network+ Certified Professional. These designations demonstrate proficiency in computer repair, operating systems, network design and installation. Dental Technology Consultants provides dentists a full range of services relating to the implementation of technology.

Interested in having Dr. Lavine speak to your dental society or study club? Click here. Dr. Lavine can be reached at drlavine@thedentistsnetwork.net.

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