One of the benefits of writing a blog is the ability to dive deeper into topics that we’ve explored in the past. This week, I would like to look back at a post I wrote on best practices for infection control and focus exclusively on intraoral sensors.

Infection control is one of the most important things to consider when you are making the switch to digital radiography (DR), since you must understand how to “sanitize” your imaging technology to ensure infection control standards are met. The health and safety of our patients is of paramount importance—not only for maintaining a trusting relationship with them, but also for shielding them from cross-contamination and potential sources of infection.  For these reasons, following the best practices for sensor sterilization is critical.

Finding right sensor for your practice requires research. After all, a good intraoral sensor can provide many benefits for you, your staff, and your patients. To facilitate this process, I have created a chart that highlights the features you should look for, how they benefit your practice, and the questions you should ask during the buying process.

My practice services a spectrum of patients and my pediatric, geriatric, and disabled dental patients are the most sensitive/limited/have greater urgent needs (hence requiring faster/more convenient digital imaging equipment to quickly diagnose the problem and refer to specialist if needed). What has been your experience?

Dental school graduates who choose private practice have two main paths to choose from when starting their professional careers—start fresh or take on an associateship with an established practice. If you decide to venture out on your own, there are certainly some imaging technology considerations to take into account. While I have discussed the benefits of switching from film to digital in the past, the obvious choice for a new dentist is to build a fully digital practice. With all of the new technology available, it would be a mistake to start a new practice that needs darkroom or film processor space.

I recently posted an article about how dental technology improves the general practitioner-specialist relationship–but does it also help with the attraction of quality employees, associates and partnerships within your business?  Do you find it brings in the right staff; that is, dental associates and hygienists who are in high demand?  Does it draw more loyalty (and references) from quality patients who perceive your level of expertise to be technologically superior?  What are your thoughts?

The deadline for the EMR mandate is looming—and if your practice provides dental care to Medicare and Medicaid recipients, you’re probably already in a rush to meet the American Recovery and Restoration Act (ARRA) requirements by 2015. While finding the right certified Electronic Health Record (EHR) system is an important piece of the puzzle, the equipment you use to capture the images that will be paired with your electronic patient information can also smooth the transition into digital record keeping.