Louis Malcmacher DDS MAGD Printer Friendly Version

Use It Or Lose It

I had the opportunity this past September to speak at my very own state meeting, the Ohio Dental Association Meeting. It was a real pleasure to work with Suzanne Payne, the Director of Meetings for the Ohio Dental Association, and her great team. This meeting was packed with dental professionals from all over the state as well as lots of exhibits on the newest technology in dentistry.

I’ve written about new technology before, but I would like to look at it from a different aspect in this column. Every dentist I know would love to have every piece of new technology. There is no question that we, as dentists, love toys and the bigger and better the technology is, the more that we want it.

The only challenge here is that each new technology comes with a price tag. How do you determine where and when you will spend your technology dollars? Unless you have about a million dollars laying around, you have to make some informed and careful choices as to where you are going to spend your dollars first, and build your practice from there.

Here are some guidelines that we use in our own practice:

1. Is this new technology going to help me in my everyday dentistry?
   If the new technology is not going to be in your hands multiple times per day, then you are not going to get the best use of that technology. The new technology has to become a vital part of your practice immediately in order for you to have any kind of return on investment.

2. Does this new technology have a practice management component?
   This is often an aspect that most dentists don’t think about. Any new technology should have your patients talking to other patients about your practice. When new technology does wow your patients, the buzz it generates is free advertising and great marketing for your practice—patients will spread the word that you can now do things faster, easier and better than ever before.

3. Will this new technology make your office run more efficiently?
   Many times with new technology, there may be glitches that actually change the way you practice and make you less efficient than you were before. New technologies should be complementary to your practice and not dramatically change the flow of your day because then it will end up costing you much more than the price tag associated with it.

Let me give you some examples of technologies we have invested in that have paid off tremendously. Digital radiography is certainly at the top of any dentist’s list. We recently acquired a Dr. Suni Plus System. Suni has just come out with the thinnest, most comfortable sensor ever developed and their software is outstanding. Add to that a Suni Cam Intraoral Camera and you have one of the most cost-effective digital x-ray systems on the market. The software is very intuitive and our team members were able to pick it up very quickly, which saved us time. Now it is a crucial part of our office.

It is also certainly time to take a look at laser dentistry. Once you learn how to use it you can comfortably do most of your operative dentistry and many other procedures without giving the patient anesthetic. We now have two Waterlase C 100s and two Waterlase MDs (both by Biolase) and we could not imagine practicing without them. It has made us much more efficient and differentiated our practice from others more than anything else in our recent history.

Yes, it is time to look at new technology, especially with Section 179 in the tax code, which allows Uncle Sam to help pay for some of these investments in your practice. Just like we tell our patients to use their benefits before the end of the year, you need to buy some equipment before the end of 2008 to qualify. This is money back in your pocket. By the way, don’t feel bad about Uncle Sam helping you—with all the bailouts in the financial industry, I would say that is the least that they could do for the dental industry!

Dr. Louis Malcmacher is a practicing general dentist in Bay Village, Ohio, an internationally known lecturer, dental consultant and author, and consultant to the Council on Dental Practice of the ADA. Interested in knowing more about how to truly enjoy dentistry? Click here.

Interested in having Dr. Malcmacher speak to your dental society or study club? Click here.

To reach Dr. Malcmacher, email him at DrMalcmacher@thedentistsnetwork.net or call 1.800.952.0521.

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