Most sources claim that about 20 percent to 35 percent of dentists have incorporated Digital X-Ray Systems into their practices, and the majority of these practitioners are general dentists. This trend is growing and suggests that digital radiography is fast becoming the standard of care for diagnostic imaging in dentistry. While its clinical value is of primary importance when dentists are deciding when (not whether) to upgrade to a digital system, there are other beneficial aspects of this technology that many practitioners may not be aware of.
One of these aspects is the ability of digital radiography to enhance communications between dentists and patients, referred-to specialists and third party payers. This enhanced communication has many advantages, including the more efficient education of your dental patients that leads to them have a greater understanding of as well as confidence in your diagnosis and treatment plan. This will lead to significantly higher acceptance of needed treatment, which is a win/win situation for everyone involved. Improved communication with the specialists to whom you refer ensures both a better experience for your patient and a better final outcome. And if you file electronic claims with dental benefit providers, the ease and convenience of attaching digital images to filed claims results in faster payment and less disputes.
Patient education = patient acceptance
Of these three examples, I find the improvements in patient education that communicating with digital x-rays allows is of principal importance in my practice of general dentistry. 
I having been using digital radiography since January of 2004 and have been most gratified by the effect it has had on treatment conferences with my patients. A few years before I introduced digital x-rays into my office, I heard a lecture by Dr. Dick Barnes that convinced me using radiographs at the new patient treatment consultation was confusing to patients and ultimately counterproductive. Thinking back at the time of how putting conventional x-rays on a view box and trying to point out certain features on them to a patient with an explorer or perio probe had been less than successful, I had had to agree with him. This is no longer the case in my practice. When viewed on a high-resolution monitor in the operatory using (or letting the patient use) the cursor to point out relevant areas on the image, digital radiographs permit my patients to have a better understanding of the conditions within their mouths and this educational process influences the patient to want and accept comprehensive treatment. It is said that the majority of human learning occurs through visual communication, and digital imaging fits this bill perfectly. Educated patients are your best patients.
Facilitating teamwork
Communicating with specialists is very important to your patient’s satisfaction and the ultimate outcome of planned treatment in interdisciplinary cases. If both you and the specialists to whom you are referring your patient are using digital radiography systems, the generalist/specialist interaction can be facilitated immensely. 
Case planning can now be discussed over the phone as both doctors simultaneously view the same image(s) and arrive at the best treatment plan using the same information in real time. These radiographs can be transmitted back and forth between you and your specialist(s) by e-mail for the best in efficiency and time management.
Keep in mind that, while Dental Practice Software for the different digital systems do vary, every one I have seen allows you to export views from their programs as picture files (usually in the .jpg or .tif formats) that can easily be attached to emails for transmission to other dentists. Picture files so received can also be easily imported into just about any digital imaging software as well.
Speeding claims
Lastly (though you may view it as a necessary evil) if you file claims for your patients to their dental benefit carriers and do so electronically, you can avoid hard copies of your radiographs as well as the post office altogether by sending your x-rays along with these claims. Transmitted as an attachment to the filing, your x-rays can go through cyberspace just like your electronic claims, saving time, money and duplication of effort. According to Though many dentists focus on the clinical aspects of digital radiography when deciding to make this purchase, as you can see, there are many other advantages to this technology besides greater diagnostic capabilities and supply cost savings. Digital x-rays are also clearly superior to their conventional brethren when it comes to education, communication and flexibility of use. Whether seen on a computer monitor, discussed over the phone or relayed via email, digital radiographs present us with a new era of possibilities in our transition to the paperless practice. The future is not only here, it’s better than we could have imagined.