Where We’ve Been with Information Technology

These next several posts will focus on Information Technology and Intelligent Systems (IT/IS) past and present. We will followup with Intelligent Solutions available now and in the future.

Today, we begin with a look back through the rearview mirror.

Where We’ve Been

We live in a time of rapid change and upheaval.  This change is brought on by the impact of computers and the ubiquitous information superhighway, creating a global village.  You are separated from anyone in the world by just six seconds.  If you have access to the World Wide Web, you can access the information that anyone else in the world has shared faster than you can say your name and address.  You might say, “that’s great, but it won’t affect my practice; I can’t deliver a minimal-prep veneer over the Internet.”  And in that regard, you would be right, but the way you learn, administer, develop, and communicate in your practice are affected significantly by the latest information technology. But I am getting ahead of myself, back to the rearview mirror.

Evolution of Staffing

To build a paradigm for the future, we should be aware of the evolution of dentistry and technology over the past several decades.  Much of what is possible through technology today was not possible then. To thrive in the decade ahead, you must dismantle much of the previous paradigms.

In the 50′s and early 60′s, the typical practice was one dentist, one team member, and one chair.  The technologies of that era necessitated a central location for telephone, ledgers, appointment book, patient records, and visibility of the front door.

The front desk became a focal point for those technologies.  Enter the “baby-boomer” generation, dental insurance, and the federal government with its concern of an impending dental manpower shortage.  Initiatives and funding for dental hygiene, dental assisting, and expanded duty programs, as well as, expansion of dental graduate capacity ensued.  With the boom of dental insurance in the ’70s, the dental office grew from a cottage of a dentist and one team member to an industrial model of administrative and clinical specialists.  At the height of it all, you could find an appointment, financial, and insurance secretary at the “front,” and in the “back” chair-side assistants, hygienists, and expanded duty assistants.  How many front desk people do you need to handle the volume?  “Is bigger better?”

Not necessarily.

Moving from the molecular world of paper through the first four generations of computer technology in the dental practice has been an exciting evolution.

Information technology innovations in dentistry over the past three decades have been significant.  Let’s look at just a few of the technological advances that have enhanced your services.

Information Systems

In the mid-’70s, the first generation of computer technology in dentistry was offered by pegboard system companies using time-share batch systems to handle billing, and in some cases recall.
A few years later, second-generation systems were ushered in, utilizing proprietary hardware and operating systems that added in-house control and expanded functionality, including insurance management and some treatment planning.  By 1982, third-generation systems were available and featured a character-based operating system running on IBM compatible personal computers. Nearly a decade later, fourth-generation peer-to-peer or a dedicated PC network running the graphical interface of the Apple OS and Microsoft Windows™ arrived.

Clinical Photography

The age-old cliché “a picture is worth a thousand words” is so real in dentistry.  Patients typically don’t accept what they don’t understand and are most often overwhelmed with dental jargon.  The power of a simple drawing is greatly magnified and personalized with a digital photograph.  You have an instant image that can be saved and duplicated again and again.  Such images stored with well-designed image management software capable of storing intra-oral and extra-oral images as well as x-ray images, provide instant access to vital patient information.

Digital Radiography

Digital radiography has become the de-facto standard.  You are no longer hindered by the wait times of film, dip tanks, and automatic processors, to say nothing of the elimination of chemicals and processor maintenance.  Instant images are now at your disposal with digital radiography.  As the diagnostic quality of digital photos equaled or exceeded traditional film, this technology has eliminated a significant obstacle to the “paperless” dental record.  Digital radiography also allows a reduction of x-ray exposure by as much as 90%.  We will continue to see significant integration and evolution of this technology over the next several years. The most exciting advance is the capability of CBCT (Cone Beam Computed Tomography) in dental diagnosis and planning.

Education Systems

The arrival of digital multimedia education brought us light-years beyond the drawing on the bracket table.  With digital education packages like CAESY and the Dentistry Channel, you had robust patient education at your fingertips.  Developed to deliver the information at the layperson level and not Dentistry 101, you could elevate understanding in a shorter timeframe.

Next up, this series looks at Information Technologies available today. Stay tuned.

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