Discover how to best integrate top dental technology into your practice with these tips and tricks.
Are You an Oral Healthcare Professional Looking to Take Your Dental Technology to the Next Level? Well, You’ve Come to the Right Place.
In our digital age, we are constantly being bombarded with all kinds of information. Sometimes, finding useful information on dental technology may be difficult or even a bit frustrating.
However, in this article, we try to do just that. At NOVA Computer Solutions, we strongly believe that strategic investment in high dental technology holds the key to the future for you and your practice. That said, as a dental industry-focused IT support provider, we know that you must have a lot of questions.
In this article, we are going to take a look at some of the most important considerations to help you integrate dental technology into your practice. Over the past few years, major strides in science and technology have radically transformed dentistry. The expanded capabilities of dental technology have brought greater efficiency and productivity to the modern workplace. At the same time, however, it has become increasingly difficult to keep up.
Investing in modern dental technology could also be a significant capital investment, whatever the size of your practice.
So, what should I consider before integrating dental tech? Let us have a closer look.
For this discussion, we’ll look at a fairly new and exciting innovation in digital dentistry: CAD/CAM (Computer-aided Design/Computer-aided Manufacture) systems.
CAD/CAM systems can be classified into two, based on functionality:
This means that the choice of system will rely heavily upon which application best suits your practice.
Generally, the degree of difficulty in operating dental equipment varies considerably. For example, in our case, chairside systems are much more demanding compared to digital impression systems. This is because users need to become familiar not only with the design software but also the functions of the milling unit for fabrication. On the other hand, a clinician operating a digital imaging system needs only to take an accurate digital impression. As such, the learning curve for the one using a chairside system will be significantly steeper than that of the one using a digital imaging system.
Bearing this in mind, it is advisable to integrate dental technology incrementally. Start with the least challenging, then gradually build up. For example, you could start with a digital impression system, then, later on, add the remaining features to arrive at a chairside system finally.
Always ensure that your staff is comfortable with each level before moving forward to get the best out of the technology.
Tough one to call, right? However big your practice may be, it still bears asking. The latest dental technologies do not come around cheaply. Is it worth such a significant capital investment? Seems like the biggest question of all.
To determine your return on investment, consider the following:
However, as in our case, the ROI may not necessarily be measurable. At least not in terms of percentages. This is because both conventional and digital impressions produce fine restorations. The big difference is in the time each takes.
We think that the biggest question is: how much do you value client experience? How valuable is your image as a high-quality service provider? That’s the greatest value that these new technologies will add to your practice.
Most dental schools nowadays train their students using high dental technology. As a result, many recent graduates will likely be unable to practice in dental practices that have not made the right investments in technology.
What this means is that such a firm will soon find itself unable to attract the most talented job seekers, if any at all. Even worse, their employees might prefer to move to more tech-savvy practices as they look to further their careers.
Not at all. The full cost of your equipment purchases is tax-deductible up to an amount specified under Section 179 of the IRS Tax Code. This was introduced as a means of stimulating the economy since it allows business owners to write off the entire cost of equipment and technology purchases in the year it is acquired as opposed to spreading deductions over several years.
At the moment, the annual deduction limit ranges from $250,000 to a healthy $500,000!
What are some business-related properties that qualify for Section 179 deduction? Here’s a short list:
Apart from the initial cost of purchasing dental equipment, dental practices also require IT support from a reliable Managed IT Service Provider. Nova Computer Solutions is a trusted dental IT support and solutions company that offers high-quality services to oral healthcare professionals.
Available to our dental clients is a range of Managed IT Services such as:
However, we know that your practice is unique. With that in mind, we would like to help you choose the services that will best suit the specific needs of your practice.
Managed IT Services fees vary widely depending on the type and extent of services that you choose.
Planned investment in high dental technology will help to take your business to the next level by:
Ready to get started and find out how we can help you integrate IT into your dental practice? Get in touch with us at NOVA Computer Solutions to take the first step in this exciting journey!
Contents
