Digital dental radiography is certainly a technology which has been around now for over 10 years.
It has improved considerably during that time, and more and more dental practices are embracing the technology every day.
The truth is however, that almost all dental practices still use ordinary radiography.
Some dentists question the necessity of switching to digital radiography, and many cannot afford the initial cost of converting over.
While conventional radiography is a proven means of getting dental x-rays, digital dental radiography offers many added benefits over traditional radiography.
The following article represents my personal feedback with digital dental radiography over the course of a 3 year period.
My reviews, comments, and findings derive from hands-on practical knowledge with digital sensors, panoramic, and cephalometric radiography.
The advantages of digital radiography are far superior versus the traditional methods of obtaining radiographs.
One key difference is the capability to have instantaneous observation of the radiographic images.
The images appear on the computers screen within a few moments after taking them.
Once the image is on screen, you will have the abilities to zoom in or out, brighten up or darken the images, make annotations to the images, take on-screen dimensions, in addition to a whole slew of other image manipulations.
Some digital dental radiography software will allow you to grade the bone density of a patient.
Another great benefit of switching to digital radiography will be the capability to store patient radiographs in a computer database instead of physical charts.
This provides an extremely organized way of image retrieval and storage, and gives you the possibility to free up space within your dental practice.
The database also reduces the chances of misplacing or misplacing a patients entire information.
The amount of data that can be stored in a digital database also makes it possible for a practice to reduce paper waste as well.
Apart from digital storage, there's yet another excellent benefit for clinicians with regards to communication with practitioners.
It makes it a breeze to export patient images to a compact disc which the patient can take with them to another practitioner.
You will also have the ability to email images to other doctors too.
For the eco-friendly dentist, switching over to digital dental radiography includes getting rid of film developers and their chemicals.
Keeping these developing stations is a daunting task, and there is always the stains and odors from the solutions that you had to be aware of.
Digital radiography does away with the necessity for these stations so that means you can forget chemicals, no more dark room, and you could also regain the space that this equipment once occupied.
The sensitivity within the digital sensors also means minimized radiation.
Digital dental radiography offers up to a 70 to 80 % reduction.
Once you have taken full mouth periapical images, you'll have exposed the individual to about the same amount of radiation exposure involved while taking one periapical image obtained using conventional radiography.
This reduction in radiation is especially important during implant placement or complex endodontic treatment where a number of radiographic images are employed.
There are also some disadvantages to switching your dental practice over to digital radiography.
The high cost is the most important factor to consider when seriously considering the decision to switch.
The price will involve investing in or upgrading to new computer systems including a database storage server and full computer systems in each exam room as well as every operatory room.
It is best to also purchase the digital sensors which will go into the patients mouth, along with stocking up on accessories to accompany the sensors such as hygienic covers, guards, and alignment rings.
The main kit that you receive from your dental vendor of your respective choosing should also include the required software that will enable you capture and store digital images.
This software will also be compatible with your practice management software, or perhaps you can choose the option to switch your whole practice to an all-in-one solution in which the practice management software is also replaced.
Some other costs to take into consideration might be spending money on an employee per hour to manually scan each of the older conventional x-rays in to the new digital database.
This endeavor of manual scanning of radiographs ought to be done little by little and spread out over time as patients come in for follow up appointments.
Using this method the expenses of the work can be spread over multiple months and can be absorbed by the practice a lot easier.
Another factor that you must take into consideration is hiring a third party IT company who specializes in digital radiography and dental practice management.
Save yourself the funds in the beginning by hiring skilled computer technicians.
Remember, you will be losing money whenever your computer systems are down, so get good help the first time.
Take into account also that you'll need to educate yourself as well as your staff to use the new equipment.
This tends to also mean paying a representative to come to your practice for several days to train your practice all at once.
The digital sensors are thick and bulky in size and therefore are very rigid.
I should also mention that they are somewhat delicate.
They usually can't stand a fall onto a hard floor.
The sensor has a long cable attached to it that also connects to your computer.
These cables could be mistakenly tripped over, and will also fray if pulled from the computer incorrectly.
Damage to these sensors will require replacement which can be usually in excess of $10,000 per sensor to replace.
The good thing is that you should not have to purchase a digital sensor for every room within your practice since you will probably not be taking radiographs in every room at the same time.
Most practices will get by just fine with A couple of sensors in each size.
That should save your practice some funds in the beginning.
The benefits of transitioning your practice over to digital dental radiography far outweigh the disadvantages in my opinion.
These positive aspects also justify the higher initial cost of switching over as well.
As this technology progresses, patients have become more aware of its benefits and are actively seeking practices that offer a digital radiographic solution rather than traditional x-rays.
Personally, I would recommend digital radiography to all practices that want to progress and grow their business.