intraoral camera has become an essential tool

There is no question the impact computers have had on the dental industry. Almost every practice has some type of practice management software running on a computer. There’s no longer a question of whether or not you need software to help manage your practice, the new question is one of progression: Are you fully taking advantage of everything your software can do for your practice?

If all your software does is work like an expensive ledger, you can find the same functionality out of free web-based accounting software. However, by expanding your use of features available in your software, you can increase efficiency in real ways that impress your patients and improve your bottom line. Dental Curing Light Here are a few key essentials every practice should have to demonstrate this:

Appointment Book: The paper feel of that big binder full of appointments certainly endows a sense of security. But what if you get a call from a patient asking for the date of her next hygiene appointment and all she can remember is “next summer”? Do you really love that rush of patients done with their hygiene appointment at the top of the hour who all need to schedule that recall? A unified digital appointment book allows for easy search, distribution of workload to other staff members such as scheduling from the operatory, linking appointments to demographic information, and more.

The Chart: Everyone who has ever had a paper chart at one point lost track of it, or had it needed by multiple team members at the same time. A digital chart provides access to every member of your team, and can be a comprehensive document of present, past, and future treatment.

Imaging: Equipment such as an intraoral camera has become an essential tool for your practice. Quick and easy access to these images is essential, and your practice management software can tie those in with every other bit of imaging you have on that patient, FDI dental from digital x-rays to digital panoramic images.

Take the plunge. While change may be hard for an office to endure on the front end, rarely is there a situation where adding practice management software doesn’t improve the lives of everyone. One last recommendation: A Dell workstation is not a server. Hardware is just as critical as software and it is important to invest in a solid server that can efficiently and reliably run the software you select for your practice.