Over the past decade, technology has taken the world by storm, bringing in flexibility and efficiency. The dental industry has not fallen far behind its impact. Advancements in the field of science and technology have convinced the dental practices of its relevance and how its integration into their business can increase efficiency and maximize productivity.
The integration of modern technology at a dental practice can not only facilitate the dental professional in their tasks, but can enhance the patient experience as well. The more a dental practice can offer to their patient, the higher is the patient satisfaction and the greater is the appeal. Even though the modern dental practice would constantly require improvements and updations, having a solid foundation in place is supremely important for the optimal functioning of any dental practice.
Benefits of technology at a Dental Practice:
- Digitization increases efficiency:
Digital platform in dentistry ensures that all patient information, imaging systems, and data work together effectively in a connected manner. The real-time flow of information allows practices with a digital platform the liberty of operating more efficiently along with quicker delivery of procedures and a significantly higher level of productivity. - Saves time:
Incorporation of technology in the dental practice has proven to save time on a lot of aspects of providing patient care as well as practice management. With faster dental processes in place, dentists are now able to accommodate patients with time constraints or a busy schedule. Technology has also enabled same-day completion of treatments that would have otherwise taken multiple appointments without compromising on precision. - Providing a competitive advantage:
Technological advancements offer significant competitive advantage. Practices capable of delivering more efficient treatments, comfortable patient experience, same-day treatments, shorter appointments, and lesser invasive procedures tend to have a greater appeal to the patients. As the dental industry continues to embrace technology, it has seemingly become more and more important for practices to stay updated with recent developments, so as to ensure they don’t fall behind in this competition. With every practice having access to almost similar kinds of technology, the competition would rather be more about who makes the best use of it.
- Improvement in patient experience:
Dental treatments can sometimes be a bit overwhelming for patients. Dentists should therefore dedicate themselves to the comfort and positive experience of the patients. Focusing on the comfort of patients and ensuring that they are relaxed throughout the treatment as this makes a lasting impact on the patients and ensures that they return for regular check-ups.
- Easier integration of RCM services:
It is only when a practice switches to digital charting and clinical note-taking, is when they will be able to outsource to RCM services more effectively. Most, if not all, dental practices across the US have now switched to outsourced RCM. Outsourcing your RCM services help the practice earn more revenue while still costing less than hiring a full-time billing/insurance coordinator.
- Measurement of performance:
The ability to quickly and easily measure staff and clinic performance is perhaps one of the key benefits of embracing technology. By implementing the necessary KPIs and frequently monitoring performance through reports extracted from dental management platforms, dental practices can ensure the efficiency of their staff and the practice thus improving their clinic’s profitability.
Conclusion:
In comparison to previous times, patients nowadays have a better awareness of advanced technology, and expect the integration of a similar high-tech environment at the dental clinic. Advancements in dental equipments are bringing drastic changes and making high-tech practice a reality, with innovative equipment increasing efficiency in patient care and thus delivering better services to patients. Dentists can no longer afford to wait a decade to invest in and incorporate new pieces of equipments in their practice, as was in previous times. They are challenged every day to keep up with the pace of the ever improving technological advancements in order to remain productive, efficient, competitive and most importantly, relevant, among their competition.
A well-thought-out plan for the integration of technology in a dental practice and following up on current trends to plan upgradation can help the practice be well positioned in the market and enjoy a greater success in the age of digitization in the field of dentistry.
