Corporate Profile: The Era of All-Digital Imaging by Kyle Patton, associate editor, Dentaltown magazine

Long-term implications
It isn’t rocket science to figure out that happier patients are key to growing a practice. At the heart of any practice is diagnostic dentistry, where from a clinical standpoint, patients are getting the first impression on how your practice operates.

Consider the process a new or existing patient goes through in this diagnostic window—how you diagnose and explain treatment options to them. Now imagine being able to show them, not just tell them, what you’ve found in a matter of seconds. Intraoral radiographs are at the heart of diagnostic dentistry, revealing interproximal decay, root fractures and bone levels that otherwise might go unseen. For modern dentists, the only choice for intraoral radiographs is a digital solution, allowing them to benefit from instantaneous images, lower radiation and the ability to use full-screen images to discuss diagnosis and treatment options with their patients. It also eliminates the act of processing film and phosphor plate images that require excessive amounts of a clinician’s time, as well as chemicals.

Digital diagnostic tools do more than save time and reduce material costs. The most beneficial element is improving the patient experience. Word-of-mouth referral is still the largest source of new patients for any practice. When patients are raving to their friends and family about how quickly and comfortably their problem was diagnosed and visualized, compared with service in previous dental offices, the adoption of digital intraoral radiography has already paid for itself.

Determine need
Once a practice decides to adopt or increase its digital imaging capabilities, the next step is understanding how to make the most of its investment.

Offices should determine their digital radiography needs, and balance them against the potential costs. You might not need to outfit each operatory with digital equipment and software—some practices might need an intraoral sensor in every operatory, while others could make do sharing a few sensors across the office.

When considering digital intraoral radiography, the size of your practice is less important than the type of patients you see on a daily basis. Doctors should think about their average day and how many scheduled patients would benefit from digital radiographic imaging; then consider that for every patient who benefits, the doctor and staff are also saving time and money. (A good sales representative should be able to walk you through all scenarios, but they should first learn about your practice.)

When taking radiographs using traditional film, your staff spends a lot of time preparing the film, positioning the film with each patient, and then processing the film in hopes of getting a good shot. With digital radiography, there’s significantly less prep time and virtually no time after pressing the X-ray generator before the results can be viewed. A process that might take an experienced staff member 20 minutes might now only take five.

In an average day, if you see 15 patients who need some form of intraoral radiography done, it could take 5 staff hours to accomplish the task using traditional film (15 patients, 20 minutes apiece). With digital sensors and software, it ends up taking just over an hour, total.

Clinical prowess
In general, digital radiography imagery has the opportunity to be clearer and crisper than traditional methods. The first benefit is patient-centered; a cleaner, crisper image increases the amount of pathology a doctor can identify. The more a doctor can see, the better he or she can diagnose and treat. This means faster, more predictable results and a treatment plan that a doctor can easily share and explain to a patient. All these elements are helping to build patient trust and increase case acceptance.

Clinical experience is also enhanced by utilizing the software that comes with the hardware. Features like image enhancement allow users to create, edit and save personal preferences to ensure instant access to appropriate settings, as well as the ability to easily review, store and share images. Dynamic image enhancers enable doctors to also do things like adjust image sharpness, which can’t be done on traditional X-rays.

Then, with options to save and share high-quality images in a variety of file types, that information is easily transferable to colleagues and insurers.

Every dental practice is different, especially those with more than one practitioner. Even among professionals within the same specialty, one may prefer her imagery to look different from the images the doctor across the hallway likes to work with.

A good digital radiographic imaging solution is customizable. Look for software solutions that provide useful tools like filters so images can be easily viewed in the practitioner’s preference. The best software will also allow practitioners to save those preferences as individual settings so that each time they’re taking radiographs, the image that appears is set to their preferred format. Imagine getting into a car and always having to readjust your seat. A good digital imaging software always remembers where you left off and what you prefer—even if you’re not the only doc using it. (Make sure to ask sales representatives if their products have these time-saving and helpful features.)

The downside
The sooner a doctor enters the digital landscape, the sooner he can take full advantage of everything it has to offer. For seasoned dentists, it’s easy to recall with digital intraoral radiographic imaging entered the field. At first, only a few companies were brave enough to advertise the first-generation sensors and software at dental conventions. Now digital radiography is becoming standard operating procedure.

The newest generation of dentists are entering practice with the understanding that patients are expecting digital solutions. It won’t be long before all patients expect an easier, more comfortable solution … and if their doctor hasn’t embraced it, they might find one who has.

So while the adage “If it ain’t broke …” may apply to a great number of things in life, dentistry isn’t one of them. Digital radiographic imaging solutions exist to save time, reduce costs, increase clinical expertise and build patient trust. If there’s a downside to digital radiographic imaging, it’s in not adopting it sooner, rather than later.

About Schick By Sirona
Schick By Sirona is the market-leading digital intraoral sensor that was originally brought to the market in the 1990s. The latest iteration of that original technology is the Schick 33 sensor, brought to the market in 2012. Schick By Sirona is part of the Dentsply Sirona family of leading brands and products.

Schick By Sirona’s manufacturing facility and research and development department in New York is an important part of Dentsply Sirona’s development of advanced intraoral sensor technology for dentistry today. Each Schick 33 sensor is made in the U.S. by a team of dedicated employees.

Doctors should be in control of their digital imaging experience, so Schick designed its sensors and accompanying products to help enable that. Some highlights:

Schick sensors are built on a modular platform with broad choices in everything from sensor size and cable lengths to USB or Wi-Fi connectivity, so clinicians can choose the most appropriate technology for their needs. All components are designed for compatibility and easy integration with industry-standard technologies and help doctors keep up with changing requirements without having to change their entire systems—which protects investments for years to come.

Replaceable cable: If the only part of your sensor that doesn’t work is the cable, you shouldn’t have to replace the entire sensor. Schick is the only sensor on the market with the ability to change the sensor cable on the spot. Cable damage is a very common problem for digital sensors. Schick has designed its system with an easily replaceable cable (and even comes with an extra one to start).

Three sensor sizes: This allows doctors to accommodate a full range of patient sizes, including children.

Image enhancer: The dynamic image enhancer enables you to adjust image sharpness to your needs and preferences. You can also save and share images in a variety of formats.

AimRight positioning system: The AimRight adhesive positioning system helps you obtain properly oriented images easily and effectively though the ability to place the sensor exactly where it is needed, no matter the patient’s anatomy.

Heliodent configurations: As part of the seamless technology platform, the HeliodentPLUS X-ray generator features quick and safe operation to enhance workflow by providing three arm lengths and remote control features for installation in almost any operatory.

Integration: Schick sensors integrate to multiple practice management software companies.

Support: All Schick by Sirona digital intraoral sensors are supported with a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee from Patterson Dental. If you’re not completely satisfied with the product, you can simply return it. Specifically, Patterson Dental offers:

• End-to-end service and support.
• Comprehensive system training.
• Expert phone and web support though the Patterson Technology Center.
• Local in-office tech support from an authorized dealer in your region.
• Two-year comprehensive warranty and 100 percent satisfaction guarantee.