Dentists are faced with numerous challenges today, some as a result of COVID, others, due to the changing economic climate, and then others due to the advent of digital technology. The rising costs of running a dental practice and causing many dentists to sell, retire, or walk away from their offices, and many others that remain are having difficulty making ends meet. As a result, the idea of spending more money on things like digital technology sounds absurd.
But technology does not worry about your difficulties. And it doesn’t have a problem if you work it 24/7. And it also doesn’t mind telling you that you missed a spot on your scan and you need to re-scan that particular area. What am I talking about, you ask?
Technology is taking over big time, whether you like it or not. If you miss a margin on your impression, it is highly likely that your lab won’t even tell you. They will just estimate it and fabricate that crown anyway. But wouldn’t you like to have a machine that tells you right away as you scan that margin so you can simply point the camera in that spot again and get a perfect “impression”? Don’t you want the restorations you make to be more precise, more accurate, more efficiently made, and in much less time?
Technology in Dentistry may be the biggest challenge for many dentists today but it’s going to get better and better for technology and worse and worse for those dentists that lag behind. It will get scary if you don’t keep up. You need to learn to embrace digital technology, improve your practice, and your people, and you need to change your psychology from “I’ve done it like this for 30 years so why bother” to “this is the greatest opportunity to develop valuable skills that keep up with the changing times”. Because this is not about the value of what you’ve “been providing”. It’s about the value of your skills in the marketplace. And if your skills are not that high moving into the future, while others soar above, you will not only make yourself into a dinosaur, you will lose the passion and energy for your work in general
Technology in Digital Dentistry is here to stay and will continue to improve, expand, and become more complex if you don’t stay with it. Just like cell phones became more than just phones, and those who didn’t keep up struggle with their full capabilities, so will digital technology if you don’t keep up with it. And the one thing I will say about embracing digital technology in my practice besides the obvious massive benefits for my patients is that it’s fun to use, and makes my job more exciting, more valuable in the eyes of my patients, and much more enjoyable on a daily basis.
About Dr. Agatha Bis
Dr. Agatha Bis, DDS received her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1996. With over 25 years of clinical experience creating beautiful and healthy smiles, Dr. Bis offers a unique approach to dentistry, blending modern dental practices with the use of digital technology to optimize health outcomes. With thousands of hours in post-graduate training, her unique focus and expertise in treating TMD and providing options in restorative dentistry, along with digital technology have led to helping numerous patients resolve chronic and debilitating dental challenges.