Fortunately, successful dental manufacturers attempt to minimize the facility impact of integrating any new or improved device, piece of equipment, or component. More potential sales exist for plug-and-play products that build upon existing technology infrastructure.
Consider the following products for your practice based on the benefits and cost implications.
Nomad handheld X-ray units are rapidly gaining regulatory acceptance and market share. We have not designed infrastructure for a traditional wall-mounted periapical X-ray unit in the operatories in the last three years due to our design clients switching to handheld units.
Usage benefits
• Take intraoral radiographs from almost any conceivable angle and dental chair position
• Improve operatory esthetics by eliminating bulky wall-mount units
• Free up precious space in operatory for additional useful equipment and cabinetry
Potential cost savings
• Eliminates requirement for "in-wall" plywood blocking attached to framing members
• Eliminates dedicated electrical outlet
• Reduces circuit breaker count in electrical panel(s)
• Reduces equipment costs - one shared handheld X-ray unit can accommodate three operatories vs. purchasing fixed and wall-mounted periapical units in each operatory
Cone beam units (computed tomography) are probably a close second to the handheld X-ray units in market share gains vs. traditional panoramic or panoramic-cephalometric X-ray units. Initially, the first generation i-CAT and other early CT unit models had a larger footprint than the typical digital panoramic unit, which challenged many to retrofit the CT unit into their existing facility without moving walls and compromising existing space. More recently, the CT units are comparable in size to many standard digital panoramic units, greatly simplifying retrofit opportunities.
Usage benefits
• Tremendous diagnostic information
• A terrific addition to group practices with multispecialty focus and team approaches to complex cases
Potential cost savings
• The CT units are priced significantly higher than digital panoramic units, but the market is competitive and CT unit pricing has dropped recently. Unlike handheld units, there is no comparable initial cost savings purchasing CT vs. traditional panoramic units. You can make the case that the CT unit diagnostic value greatly reduces potential liability from misdiagnosis and increases diagnostic opportunities, leading to more production per case and a significant cost savings.
CAD/CAM units, such as the multiple generations of CEREC by Sirona, or E4D by D4D Technologies, a more recent entry to the market, can be very significant and productive additions to your practice. Approximately 50% of our recent general practice design clients have chosen to integrate CAD/CAM into their facilities.
Usage benefits
• One-visit crowns and partial coverage restorations typically associated with multiple visits and outside lab work
• Elimination of temporaries
• Elimination of impressions
Potential cost savings
• CAD/CAM units are a significant investment for any practice. Many CE courses are available to justify purchasing this technology - justifications that factor in reduced lab bills, higher case acceptance, and overall reduced chairtime per procedure.
LED patient lights, in our opinion, are sophisticated technology products and very much worth your consideration. A-dec, Midmark, and Pelton & Crane are examples of quality manufacturers that offer LED dental patient lights.
Usage benefits
• Superior light source for shade matching and identifying tissue pathology
• Built-in filters allowing alternative settings that remove the light-curing spectrum, a problem in previous generations of dental patient lights
• Less heat output - always a good thing in operatories
Potential cost savings
• Reduced energy consumption
• Time savings in infection control process due to more compact and seamless design
• Less waste of composite materials due to better control of curing process
"Dry" vacuum pumps have recently become the industry standard for dental vacuum systems and have supplanted the wet vacuum systems of the past. Midmark and other manufacturers produce quality "dry" vacuum units with multiple sizing options.
Usage benefits
• Superior suction strength over traditional wet vacuum pumps up to 18 mm/HG
• Much quieter motors
• On-demand performance characteristics decrease overall heat output
Potential cost savings
• Reduced energy consumption and electrical bills from on-demand performance
• Tremendously reduced water consumption and water bills over wet vacuum pump systems
• Units are typically "oil-less" and no maintenance is required, which reduces service-related billings
• Reduced installation costs due to simplified plumbing and sound-insulation requirements
