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For over ten years I have been working with dentists, and more importantly in my own office, to use technology well and develop an effective high tech dental office. From that experience I have developed four core concepts which can help guide dentists in the development of a high tech dental office.

1. Change
2. Digital Nervous System
3. High Tech – High Touch
4. End in Mind

John Naisbitt the author of the best selling book Megatrends coined the phrase “High Tech-High Touch”. Naisbitt noted that people really do like High Tech. That is they like the excitement, the change, the novelty, the speed and rapid access to information, they like new and innovative ways of doing things. But they don’t like being turned in to a number or “digitized”. If they perceive that technology is taking over, if the technology is more important than they are, then high tech back lash results.

The challenge, according to Naisbitt, is to provide the high tech innovation people want and businesses need and at the same time to provide the personal high touch relationships people demand.

Dentistry is a perfect example of a High Tech-High Touch profession. Dental patients really do want their dentist to be up to date, using the latest and best methods. They want and even expect their dentist to be state of the art, cutting edge techno perfect. And yet at the same time what most of them really want even more is a personal one on one relationship with their dentist. They crave high touch.

The point is technology for its own sake has no value. Technology only has value when it solves a human problem, when it enhances the practice. Always start by examining the human system, what are we doing now? Then look at how technology can make it better.