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Digital Radiography—Good for Your Patients, Good for Your PracticeFeatured Article
- By Lorin Berland, DDS
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In this competitive marketplace and with a growing technology-savvy patient pool, digital imaging has become a great marketing tool. I switched to digital more than 10 years ago, and the response from patients has been overwhelming ever since:
Feel the "I get it" factor: Let's face it; patients don't know how to read X-rays in the first place, so to expect them to get any information from a postage-stamp sized piece of film is absurd. With digital images, teeth displayed on a computer monitor are larger than life, and if the patients still don't get it, I can enlarge, zoom in, circle, point to and direct them to the problem. You know those patients who can't pinpoint exactly where it hurts? Digital imaging uncovers cracks, decay, or periapical radiolucencies that may not be visible on film. Case acceptance will grow when patients actually understand what they are seeing, and when they are anticipating an expensive procedure, you can't blame them for wanting to see all the facts themselves.
Show them that you see eye to eye: Discussing a patient's condition with a film X-ray in your hand often means that your attention is turned to a light box or to your hand, holding a film X-ray up to the light. For the patient, that means that you either have your back turned on them, or you are focusing on the film. When your images are presented on a large computer monitor, you can actually have a conversation with the patient about what's up on the screen. Go ahead—look them in the eye and discuss the possibilities.
Get your staff out of the closet: When my assistant was developing X-rays, she was not at my side, or with the patient—for a long time. When she finally resurfaced, if the X-ray was not clear, she returned to the dark room. But look at the bright side–with the advent of texting on cell phones, at least they are not out of the loop with their friends. The bottom line is if the assistant is in the dark room, she is not helping you or calming down/talking/discussing important tooth subjects with the patient. Digital is instant gratification. Click the X-ray, and voila, it appears on the screen.
Bond with your colleagues: When referring dentists need to see what you're seeing, digital brings them into your virtual office. Send them an e-mail with the image.
Foil the insurance trap: They didn't get the X-ray you sent, eh? E-mail it immediately. No excuses. Period.
Digital radiography is a practice builder that lets me focus on diagnostics and my patients while it makes life easier for the entire team. Word gets around. In this technological age, a practice really can't afford not to use "digital."
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