Message Boards
Today's Active Topics Today's Active Cases Browse Forum Categories My Recent Activity My Messages Private Groups My Marked Threads My Subscriptions
Today's Active Images Today's Active Polls Most Active Topics Global Townie Map Advanced Message Board Search Message Board Terms of Use

Corporate Profile: Curve Dental Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine

View Comments (0) More by this author (317)

Matt Dorey & Curve Dental bring digital imaging to the cloud

by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD
Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine

Curve Dental, the pioneer of Web-based (aka "cloud") dental practice management software, is making large strides in imaging technology and has debunked the myths and concerns dentists have long worried about when considering converting to the new technology. Dentaltown Magazine interviewed Matt Dorey, founder of Curve Dental, who explains more about the company's roots and about its vibrant and progressive future.

Matt, you had an IT business at the age of 16 installing computer systems in dental practices. When did you have the "aha" moment to start something different?
Matt Dorey: I was actually 15 and it was my third venture. While my friends were going to the prom I was building and installing computer networks for dentists. We felt that a lot of our costs, and costs incurred by our customers, could be eliminated by a cloud-based system, so we started building it. At that time, there were many companies in medical building Web-based systems, but none in dental. Since dental is the largest specialty in health care and was also the biggest source of our business, we saw a great opportunity. That was seven years ago. Since then we've recruited a team of seasoned dental veterans, we've invested millions in our technology and have built the foundation for what will radically change the dental profession.

What is the cloud?
Dorey: The cloud is taking information and storing it on the Internet, just like your online banking information. You never install software; you just navigate to a Web site. On the cloud your information can be managed properly with adequate security. The cloud eliminates all the stuff you hate about computers and networks, like upgrades, backups and crashes.

Apple, Microsoft, Google and others are spending considerable resources on the cloud. What makes the cloud a great solution for dentistry?
Dorey: Cloud-based computing offers the dentist a simple and worry-free solution for backups, upgrades and disaster recovery. And for budgets that have been stretched tight lately, a small monthly subscription fee is much more palatable than huge licensing fees. You don't need a server or monster workstations. So you save money on hardware. You don't need to worry about off-site backups, either. You'll need your IT pro in the office less often, too. Lastly, the cloud is more flexible and convenient. People shop and bank online because they can accomplish these tasks whenever and wherever they want. The cloud reduces the doctor's "technology footprint."

Digital imaging is what many dentists consider to be Curve's missing link… so we're excited to see this new development. What challenges did you face to make digital imaging possible on the cloud?
Dorey: Adding digital imaging to the cloud is a big feather in our cap, but it has come with challenges, specifically browser incompatibility. Most browsers don't work with hardware. The second problem was figuring out how to capture directly to the cloud without affecting quality, size or speed. And we knew speed would be a key to the user experience. But we nailed that! It is super fast and fluid. Dentists are shocked by our capture speed and how easily it works with their existing devices. It is an amazing accomplishment.

Tell me a little bit about how your imaging component is part of your software?
Dorey: Our imaging features are not just integrated. We don't use that term. Instead, our imaging features are "native" to the management software. We didn't want the image of a tooth and the charting for a tooth to live in two different locations. In the majority of programs available today these features are tied together loosely and use different databases. Bottom line, our imaging features are just another set of features you'll find in our software, just as native to the software as scheduling, billing and charting.

If a dentist wants to be a Curve Hero customer but already owns digital sensors, how does that work?
Dorey: Almost half of all practices are already digital. We've adapted to that fact. With Curve, you'll soon be able to plug in just about any digital imaging device and start shooting images. Whether you're using digital X-ray sensors, pans or intra-oral cameras, it'll just work.
Clinician Opinion
"I've been impressed with Curve Dental from the very first day I saw its technology. When Curve asked me to be one of the first doctors to test its cloud-based digital imaging features, I jumped at the chance. My practice has used digital X-ray sensors for many years and we face all the same hassles any other practice experiences with digital imaging – hard disk space issues, backup worries, expensive hardware and IT expenses. If I could move all of my imaging needs to the cloud it would be liberating. I was holding my breath when we took the first image in my practice. We set the sensor, we activated the X-ray and then just a few seconds later the image appeared. I was pleasantly surprised by the speed and the image quality. It's amazing to see and it's an absolutely wonderful feeling to know that I'm leaving behind all the hassles and worries of traditional digital imaging."

– Jim McCaslin, DDS
Evergreen Dental Group
What are the first questions most dentists ask you about your software?
[Editor's Note: Also see page 106 of this issue.]
Dorey: We get questions like: Is it secure? Do I own my own data? What about digital images? The questions are much more serious now than when we first started because doctors are seeing the cloud work all around them.

Our security is as sophisticated or superior than any other system that manages sensitive information. I like to ask doctors how they're protecting their patients' data. Is what you are doing right now secure? Can someone break into your practice and steal your computers? Is your data encrypted and do you have data redundancy? Is your practice surrounded by a security fence, monitored by cameras and patrolled by security guards? Probably not. No single doctor can afford to implement that level of security and infrastructure. We've built a multi-million dollar system in terms of how data is managed and secured.

Regarding data, the doctor owns it and has access to it anytime. Given the right passwords and credentials, you can download your data to the desktop. We offer a month-to-month contract, which is a huge advantage to our customers.

With digital imaging, we now have a solution that is better than any bridged or integrated solution. Because our imaging features are native to the system, our customers won't have to train on different systems, manage different databases or speak to different technical support teams. And, as our compatibility efforts progress, they'll be able to use the sensor of their choice. We're working to deliver exactly what customers want.

The claim that a cloud-based system needs less IT attention is appealing to the doctor, but how does the IT solution provider feel about the cloud?
Dorey: The IT pro has an important role to play in maintaining connectivity and security, and good IT pros will recognize how the cloud will benefit their client. We are a big supporter of the Dental Integrators Association and its members, and applaud the standards it has set in performance and service. The membership is extremely knowledgeable. Members understand the key role they play in helping a doctor move to the cloud, and we appreciate their encouragement and feedback.

How do you respond to questions about outages?
Dorey: All hardware eventually fails. So it's all about how your infrastructure is built to handle hardware failures. We have built a fully redundant infrastructure. This means if the computers at location A fail, computers at location B in a different part of the country immediately go online. When was the last time that you couldn't get on Google.com? It is important to its business that it is never down. It is the same thing with us.


In a 2010 New York Times article you described the selection of Jim Pack as Curve's CEO as "the most important decision I have ever made." Tell me more about that.
Dorey: The last two years I have learned a ton. Jim has outstanding capabilities in business and has a great track record in dentistry and software. He was one of the five original principles at Dentrix Dental Systems before acquired by Henry Schein, then president of Easy Dental and then president and CEO of Advanced MD, one of the first Web-based practice management systems for physicians. There's no better person suited for the position.

You made patient education free. Nobody is doing that.
Dorey: There are many things we're doing that nobody else is doing, and free patient education is one of them. In today's environment a dentist isn't going to spend thousands for a patient education system. The value is simply not there. We believe patient education should be free. So we made our library available online at www.curveed.com. In only one year, we have grown to more than 10,000 registered users. It's amazing how cloud-based solutions grow so rapidly.

From left: Curve Dental's Founder Matt
Dorey, COO Ian Zipursky, CEO Jim Pack
and Marketing VP Andy Jensen.
What are your day-to-day responsibilities at Curve Dental? How do you spend your time?
Dorey: To me nothing is more important than having the absolute best product. Too few leaders of companies spend sufficient time focusing on making their products spectacular. So that's where I spend my time.

You mentioned iPad. Can I operate the Curve Dental software on the iPad?
Dorey: Right now our patient education system is fully iPad compatible. We are building health history in right now and we are looking at digital imaging. Other tasks, like posting payments, are not a good fit for the iPad. The secret to the iPad is its user interface. While it's easy to browse a Web page, most office functions are limited with an iPad. We'll focus our attention on tasks that are complimented by the iPad's user experience. We're also working on mobile phone access for the dentist who takes calls away from the office. The key with all of our development is to improve the user experience using all the benefits of the cloud.

How does the conversion process work?
Dorey: Unlike software that requires a server, and a lot of installation and configuration expertise, we can deliver a username and password right away – there's no software to install. The data conversion requires just a day or two. The process of bringing an office from an old system to Curve generally takes about four to six weeks. When doctors sign up they receive a physical flow chart that explains the process, so they know what is expected from us and what is expected from them. We assign an implementation coordinator on Curve's side and an office champion on the office's side. Those two people work together to ensure a smooth transition.
Clinician Opinion
"There were two times in my dental career when digital X-rays blew me away. The first time was 10 years ago when we implemented digital X-ray sensors in our office resulting in instant diagnostic-quality images. The second time was just a few days ago when I used Curve Dental to take an X-ray. I uploaded it to the cloud and patient record simultaneously, all with the push of a button. Because the whole process was on the Web, we actually were sharing the results in real-time with analysts in other parts of the country! After the initial X-ray success with Curve, we anxiously took intraoral photos and a full panoramic X-ray with the same amazing results. I can't wait to see what happens as Curve continues to refine the process and other new creative uses are brought to market."

– Adrian Huang, DMD
Ninth East Dental
What about e-mail appointment reminders and online patient forms?
Dorey: From day one we built e-mail applications into the system. You can send nearly any piece of information and e-mail it to one individual or to every patient. Text messaging is the next step and will be available soon. There are three stakeholders in the office with different expectations: administrators, clinicians and patients. We try to optimize the application so it looks and works well for every stakeholder.

How long before your competitors offer a cloud-based solution?
Dorey: If we started today it would take four years to bring a viable product to market. I think Dr. Howard Farran made a valid point when he said that a software company not working toward a cloud solution today would likely face marketshare problems in the near future. Building something online is completely different than building something on a CD. You really have to think and hire differently when developing software for the cloud. I don't know what the competition is doing, but more competition validates our offering. Curve has a four-year head start and we intend to keep that lead.
Where do you see Curve Dental in five years?
Dorey: There's no question that every doctor will be using cloud-based dental software. We believed that when we founded the company, and today that is truer than ever. We're confident we have the technology to take dentists to the cloud and we're excited to shake things up.

Matt, thank you so much for your time. If you want to view a video of this interview please visit www.dentaltown.com/curve2011. For more information about Curve, visit www.curvedental.com or call 888-910-4376.
Expert Opinion
Digital imaging of all sorts isn't the wave of the future anymore – it's the way of today! In recent years we have moved from e-mailing personal pictures to select friends and family to uploading them into the cloud for everyone to view (via Web sites like Flicker, Facebook, etc.). We can now even capture the images directly to the cloud. It only seems natural that this should also take place in health care. In medical, the need to rapidly share images and X-rays have started this trend, which has moved into dental. It is already present in multi-location dental practices where the ease of viewing digital images from any location is crucial, and it will only continue to grow over time to a larger percentage of single-location practices. The technology is here and hundreds of practices have already adopted it. As the technology improves, support for multiple digital X-rays and capture devices expands, and Internet bandwidth increases over time, adoption will increase as well.

 – Dan Edwards
 President, PACT-ONE Solutions, Inc.
Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
Dentaltown Magazine September 2025 Read Current Issue Read Archived Issues
Sponsors
Townie Perks
Townie® Poll
Who or what do you turn to for most financial advice regarding your practice?
  
Site Menu
Message Boards Magazine Continuing Education Podcasts Blogs Classifieds Dental News Events Townie® Poll Ebooks Townie Choice Awards
Company Info
Contact Us Advertise With Us Howard Farran DDS, MBA Policies and Agreements
Site Help
Sally Gross, Member Services Specialist
Phone: +1-480-445-9710
Email: sally@farranmedia.com
©2025 Dentaltown, a division of Farran Media • All Rights Reserved
9633 S. 48th Street Suite 200 • Phoenix, AZ 85044 • Phone:+1-480-598-0001 • Fax:+1-480-598-3450