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Under current tax incentives you are allowed to expense or write off up to $105,000 in qualified equipment and technology purchases made in 2005. This includes computer software and hardware. It also includes digital radiography, cameras, diagnostics and communication systems. Following are some ideas on how you can spend your $105,000.
Basics: If you don’t have an office network yet with computers in the treatment rooms do it now. This is a crucial step in developing a truly high tech office. For the network to be successful you must also be using an established clinically based fully integrated practice management software, like Dentrix, PracticeWorks or EagleSoft.

Good management software

$8,000 (If you don’t already have it)

Network, switch, wiring, software and setup

$4,000

Treatment room computers (4)

$7,200

Server, with back up

$3,500

Front desk (2)

$1,700

Training

$1,000

Total

$25,400

Cameras: The most powerful tool in the dental office is a camera. It will help you do more and better dentistry. Digital high tech cameras have made taking and using photographs much easier faster and less expensive. You will use a digital camera for diagnosis, treatment planning, cosmetics, case presentation, lab communications, documentation and marketing. There are two types of digital cameras, a SLR type camera to take the place of a 35mm slide camera and a USB intraoral camera to take the place of an intraoral video camera. In order to use digital images the office must have good image management software like ImageFX, ADSTRA, Dentrix Image or Kodak.

Image management software

$4,000

Digital camera with flash and accessories

$2,000

USB intraoral camera

$2,000

Computer

$1,700 (If you don’t already have it)

Training

$1,000

Total

$10,700

Radiography: Digital radiography is to film radiography as word processing is to typing. Once the basics are in place and the office is using image management digital radiographs are the next logical step. There are two options corded or PSP (wireless).

Corded sensor                                                 

$8,000

Capture device (USB)                                     

$2,000

Software                                                         

$4,000

Computer

$1,700 (If you don’t already have it)

Training

$500

Total

$16,200

PSP Scanner                                       

$19,000

Software                                                         

$4,000

Computer

$1,700 (If you don’t already have it)

Training

$500

Total

$25,200

Panoramic: If you already have digital x-rays in place the next step will be to consider a digital panoramic. Kodak, Schick Gendex and even Suni have introduced great cost effective digital panoramics, for about $30,000. It is a direct digital capture with no need for developing, scanning, or retrofitting. This is not an inexpensive device, however if you evaluate the alternatives it is the least expensive way to get a digital panoramic and it is less complicated faster and gives better result than the alternatives.

Digital Pan                                           

$30,000

Computer

$1,700 (If you don’t already have it)

Training

$500

Total

$32,200

Diagnostics: There are plenty of way cool high tech, digital diagnostic devices. These include radiographs, perio probes, mandibular tracking, shade matching, fiber optic endoscopes, 3-D imaging and more. Two Options:

Shade Vision

$6,000

Florida Probe

$4,995

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Adopted from  PC Magazine: [1]
WIRELESS:Do not buy—802.11b: .Maybe buy—802.11g: “g” is faster than “b,”  But it’s about to be supplanted by “n.”Do buy—802.11 pre-n: There is some risk with this as the n standard is still developing.
MONITORS:Do not buy—CRTs: Those are the huge heavy old TV style monitors.Maybe buy—large-screen CRT HDTVs: .Do buy—LCD TVs and plasma displays: They’re thin, gorgeous, and expensive.
STORAGE:Do not buy—another ten-pack of 3.5-inch floppy disks: .Maybe buy—CD-R discs: Writable CDs are super cheap and hold roughly 700MB of data..Do buy—thumb-sized flash drives: Definitely one of my favorite inventions of the last ten years.

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1887044,00.asp

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The Healthy Balance Breakfast Shake       A healthy breakfast is the most important part of every day. A balance of carbohydrates, protein and good fat is vitally important.  You will not be as hungry throughout the morning worrying about how long it is until lunch time. I got this recipe from Joe Dillon, a fitness […]

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Now “e” is the symbol of a whole new way of communicating, it’s not just a letter anymore it is a way of life! Just for starters we have: e-mail, e-books, e-commerce, e-trades, e-tickets, e-claims, e-bills, e-cards, e-loans, e-communications, e-learning, e-payments, e-business and of course e-bay.
The basic meaning of the “e” is electronic, however the actual impact it has on a business process is e-normous.
Today most people are familiar with e-mail. It is very easy to see how e-mail is superior to paper mail, which computer snobs now routinely call snail mail (s-mail). E-mail is fast, cheap and convenient. E-mail travels from the sender to the recipient instantaneously.
Once the technology and Internet connection is in place the cost of sending an e-mail posting is nothing, no hard copies are needed, no envelopes, no stamps, and a reply can be sent quickly with the click of a mouse.
All of the obvious advantages of e-mail are equally applicable to all the other e-applications. Another advantage of e-applications is that they can be set up once and then they will automatically continue to operate with no additional human effort. On great example of this is Smile Reminder at www.smilereminder.com [1]. Another e-service company I think has some good features is Dental Sesame at www.dentalsesame.com. [2]

[1] http://www.smilereminder.com/
[2] http://www.dentalsesame.com./

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I have been hearing about this for years. My friend Dale Miles started work on this concept almost twenty years ago. Now a true hand held x-ray unit is here. Well it isn’t really here it is in Korea. A company named Osstem (linked here) [1] has working models they showed at the Greater New York meeting. The product is not available for US distribution, in fact the English version of the company web page doesn’t even have it listed.
There are two models, the DX3000 shown here which is an x-ray generator only and the ADX4000 which includes a corded EV2 sensor and an LCD screen for immediate viewing. The quoted price was $15,000. Both units, particularly the 4000 seemed a little heavy (1.8kg) for practical use.
Anyway it is an amazing product that we may see in our offices in the near future.

[1] http://en.osstem.com/index.ost

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The office gets paper from insurance companies, from specialists, from dental labs, from finance companies and from other dentists. How the heck can you have a paperless office if the world keeps sending you paper?
Here is how you do it. When some paper arrives that should be kept in the patient record such as a follow up letter from a specialist, open the letter, put it on the scanner and within seconds the letter is copied into the patient record. For Dentrix users it goes into the document center. The original paper is then shredded.  You can use this method to scan and capture x-rays and photos as well as forms and letters.
ATTENTION: Based on my experience I know right now some of the practice administrators reading this are saying to themselves, “Oh great another thing for me to do. Scan all the letters. I don’t have time for all this!” Calm down, think it through. What are you doing now with all the letters and EOBs? You open the envelope, glance through  the letter, go to the file room, find the proper chart and insert the letter. That will actually take more time than scanning into the patient record. But there is more. When the doctor needs to read the letter he or she asks for the chart and again you need to get up and search it out then take it where it is needed. The fact is using scanning the letters will not take more time it will save time, lots of time.

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Click Here: Dentrix Dental Systems [1] for a way cool online calculator that will show you how much you can save using digital x-rays. This is from Dentrix.

Digital Adds Up To What You Spend Every Month!Save big by eliminating film and using digital X-ray technology.
Chances are that you’re spending too much on chemicals, film and labor. Fill out the worksheet below to compare the exact amount you spend each month on traditional film X-ray methods. Compare that figure you spend ever month to how much you could be saving by eliminating film and using digital X-ray technology!

[1] http://www.dentrix.com/high_tech/digital_calculator.asp

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From PC Magazine read the whole thing here USB Key Superguide [1]

USB Key Superguide
We’ve put together the ultimate guide to flash drives, U3 keys, and USB hard drives, all of which will let you carry your most important data in your pocket.There was a time when USB keys—aka thumb drives, flash tokens, or keychain drives—were simple storage devices that helped you carry a file or two. The size was cool, but they weren’t really much better than a high-tech floppy disk. My, how things change. In this roundup, we cover all of the major types of USB keys that are now available: conventional flash drives, U3 flash drives, and small hard drives, all of which use USB 2.0 for fast data transfers.

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1892228,00.asp

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From the DRC web site here: DRC – Benefits [1]  
Over 100 continuing education credits available 24/7 When you subscribe to DRC, everyone in your practice gets unlimited access to DRC’s extensive on demand library of CE accredited modules presented by leading dental experts. There is no need to travel or accrue multiple expenses while sacrificing office production. You can now earn CE credit while you enjoy engaging, relevant and timely multimedia continuing education from the comfort of your home or office. Choose from over 100 modules covering a broad array of dental topics. New training modules will be added each and every month. And for the first time ever, it’s all available in one convenient location with just a few clicks of your mouse.

[1] http://drcdental.com/benefits.asp

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One of my employees in the Dental Technology Division just found out something that may help a lot of practices who experience new networking problems as they upgrade their computer systems.  As an example he gave me the lowdown on PracticeWork’s BTRIEVE errors. Scores of PracticeWorks users have seen these.  They typically look like "BTRIEVE […]

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