The Future of Dentistry - Jake Hardin

The Future of Dentistry

     Technology is getting more advanced as the years go by and with these resources we are able to        do many things we thought were impossible just a few years ago. As you might have noticed, many other fields including the auto industry and medicine have been growing substantially each year,        whereas most things to do with Dentistry tend to lag behind in these different advancements. This is when Digital Dentistry comes into play, which could be defined as anything digitized that makes work easier, more efficient, and a whole lot more cost friendly. One thing that most people do not realize is that adjusting to these new improvements in technology can be tough at first. If a specific practice decides to purchase a new laser for example, but does not get the needed training to learn how to properly use this new machine, then more likely than not it will result in a high failure rate. This is why it is absolutely critical to get the training needed so you can have the best outcomes possible. To make the visual of how Digital Dentistry has more advantages than disadvantages, I provided a list that clearly states how these new technologies will be beneficial in the long run.

Advantages of Digital Dentistry:

  The efficiency of anything from teeth cleaning to getting implants will skyrocket significantly, both in terms of cost and time.

     Using machines and digitized devices means the accuracy and success rate will be much higher as well.

   Since these different technological advancements are more accurate, it is safe to say that the outcomes of whatever procedures are occurring are far more predictable.

There is one thing that comes to mind regarding some of the limitations of Digital Dentistry, that is the cost. At first it will seem like spending a large sum of money on this specific device or machine won’t be worth it, but if you use it correctly, your return on investment can be much higher than before. This leaves me saying that after doing research about this topic I truly believe that this is the future of Dentistry. With the proper implementation and education about these different technologies, better care of patients will be guaranteed, getting surgery will be less of a pain and burden, and the overall experience at the dentist will be much more satisfactory.

The information I obtained for this blog post was from the website:

http://www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v204/n9/full/sj.bdj.2008.350.html

Beuer, F., J. Schweiger, and D. Edelhoff. "Digital Dentistry." Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group, 10 May 2008. Web. 28 January 2016.                 

On here you can find articles about this field, including new studies, past articles about dentistry, and many updates and current issues going on this year.