Would you like increased patient retention, improved profit margins, better working conditions, immense job satisfaction and respect from patients?
Keeping your practice at the forefront of the latest trends in dental technology can help with all of these things.
Patients can judge dentistry by what they see, so having an up to date and modern look is critical to your success (not to mention the resale value of the practice one day).
Better working conditions
The latest technology and equipment usually equals better working conditions for the practice team too. The key thing here is to make sure you include them in the reasoning for selecting and investing. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when purchasing expensive new equipment is not explaining properly (or at all) the thought process behind it.
If the purchase has not been explained as to the return on investment (benefit to the patients, benefit to the practice as a healthy business and benefit to the dentists and team that use it) the team will not be happy.
Staff see that new equipment or updated facility as the pay rise they deserve, but did not get. Without realising it, they can sabotage the use of new equipment or technology as they blame the purchase on the financial decline of the practice. They have no clue that investing in this might make the difference in growth or further decline.
If I were a dentist and decided to invest in anything of major significance I would make the team feel part of the decision. We all know that it is the principal's practice but a participative approach works well. I would mention the buying decision I've made, outline the benefits to the patients, benefits to the practice as a healthy business and the benefit of that growth to the team. I would then say 'we are now producing X per month without this investment. When we hit our new target of Y per month, there will be a one-time bonus of Z in appreciation for doing all you can personally to use and promote this. When we average Y for three months, I will evaluate and provide increases in staff salaries to reflect this nice increase in our practice'.
In this way, you create the environment for your team to be as excited about the new equipment as you, and the possibilities it brings for the practice and the patients.
Training
Once the equipment is installed, the next key thing is training. Not taking the time for proper team training or not training every team member is counterproductive as the practice won't fulfil the full potential of the investment. Not investing in training for the entire team for maximum and accurate usage is like buying an expensive new car, but not investing in driving lessons or filling it up with fuel. Reading the manual that comes with this technology does not create the necessary skills to get the maximum benefit from it, and having only one person learn the ropes and pass it along to the others doesn't work well either.
Digital radiography
One area of technology which has proved revolutionary for dentistry has been digital radiography. For example the X-Mind 3D from Acteon gives the benefit of 3D imaging with more accurate clinical information and treatment planning tools. Practices which incorporate it successfully will benefit from better working conditions, increased job satisfaction, and can even gain a great deal of team unity as well as respect from patients.