The future of dental technology helps dental practitioners embrace the changing way that patients communicate with their providers and receive care. In many cases, patients can struggle to make appointments for cleanings and treatments. Dental phobias, problems related to mental health, and even forgetfulness can make caring for patients even more challenging. However, when it comes to what the future holds for dentists, the best way to help improve these recurring problems in dental care is through technology. 

Many types of new dental technology have started rising in trends over the last few years, with many of them still remaining at the top of lists year after year. For next-generation dentists coming into the field, there are a wealth of breakthroughs that have helped improve efficiency and outcomes with patient care, so let’s look at some of the technologies out there that have changed how dentistry is practiced and how patients receive their care. 

Why Your Dental Practice Should Stay Updated On Technology

Dental technology integrates today’s innovations are constantly growing and changing how practices perform, but more importantly, they also change the way patients experience their care. When new technologies are adopted into practice, both practices and their patients benefit from them in the following ways: 

Boost Patient’s Trust

Patients who go to practices that use the latest dental technology will be more likely to trust their dentist’s form of care. In these scenarios, dentists who introduce their technologies and use them during practice treatment will often help patients experience better forms of care than those who do not. In healthcare, people will choose providers who are knowledgeable about their industries, and those who utilize dental technology can help build trust because it creates a sense of security. Some examples of this form of trust-building include:

• Online Scheduling: Online schedules and automated platforms often help ease the process of scheduling for patients and give them a better experience booking their appointments in advance. 
• Digital Records: Patients who have digital records of their dental history and previous treatments will often experience better access to resources, and also have the ability to be more proactive in their care. 
• Trusted Brand Diagnostics: When dentists use diagnostic systems that they’re familiar with and come from well-known brands such as Straumann and Nobel Biocare, it creates higher credibility for patients and provides them with more accurate treatment plans. 

Better Practice System Efficiency 

For dental practices having issues with streamlining their workflow, gathering new dental technology can be used to aid in these systems and reduce the likelihood of administrative errors. In these scenarios, adding newer advancements helps improve already existing workflows in place, which can help practices respond more effectively when treating streams of patients each day. Some technologies, such as computer-aided design, can even help save on financial costs for practices that typically outsource their treatment options to third-party businesses. In these situations, having CAD/CAM dental technology can help eliminate the need for multiple appointments, which can further encourage patients to follow up on appointments and receive proper treatment for their oral health conditions. 

Stay Competitive Within The Dental Industry

For private, small-scale practices that treat patients locally, adding new types of dental technology to your practice can help add a competitive edge. These technologies can be seen as an investment, as most found in today’s age focus on minimizing manual work involved in planning treatments and can help improve the overall accuracy rate for a patient’s treatment plan. In some cases, even upgrading to a new administrative system can help provide practices with a competitive edge because dental technology is used to improve resource allocation and provide better patient outreach for follow-ups and insurance claims. 

The Top Game-Changing Technologies in Dentistry Today 

Just like in any other medical specialty, innovations in practicedental technology have started making huge breakthroughs in how dentists treat patients. Below, we’ll go into the following technologies that have the potential to change how dentistry is performed: 

Artificial Intelligence(AI) in Dentistry

While generative AI and machine learning are still in constant development, many administrative, diagnostic, and treatment planning systems are now using AI language models to follow reasoning patterns and create more streamlined processes in dental care. For dentists in their field, artificial intelligence acts as an assistant for clinical decision-making sessions. In this role, AI dental technology is now being incorporated to provide options for improving the way dentists make choices related to their patient’s care. 

Here are some common examples of AI used in dentistry that you should consider: 

• Diagnostic Assistance: In typical diagnostic equipment such as radiographs, AI dental technology models are able to analyze and provide detailed diagnostic results based on data trained to detect various health conditions. In these cases, it has the potential to provide more accurate responses for diseases such as abscesses, tooth decay, and even oral cancer than with traditional methods. 
• Automated Scheduling: Patients looking for assistance with their dental treatment plans, or have general questions about their practice’s care can also interact with AI through chatbots and virtual assistants. Patients can be streamlined to chatbots for scheduling appointments without the need for calling in-office, and they can inquire about a practice’s policies related to treatment through AI that’s customized as a representative of the practice itself. 
• Predictive Analysis: Alongside its assistance in diagnosis, AI models also have the capability to provide recommendations for treatment plans based on a patient’s history. These treatment recommendations can help dentists decide on treatment plan options, which can be used to reduce the likelihood of human error during treatment. In other cases, predictive analysis can also be used for administrative tasks such as resource allocation and financial management to improve how practices operate over time, even during times of slow patient intake. 

3D Printing and Computer-Aided Design

Although this technology has been the latest craze in healthcare for a while, it’s still a piece of dental technology that holds a lot of good value. In dentistry, it can be used to print dental prosthetics and surgical guides for procedures. This dental technology brings more options to patients with corner-case scenarios that don’t allow them to receive normal treatment plans. 

Computer-assisted design and computer-assisted manufacturing have already changed the dental sector, but they’re important for practices looking to grow and expand their business. These devices help reduce costs from outsourcing dental laboratories and are also more effective at streamlining patients in their treatment plans. 3D printers are able to create many dental prosthetics for treating patients, including: 

• Produce prosthetics like crowns and bridges using various materials, which can be customized to patient’s tooth size, material preference, and even adhere to brand-specific components such as abutments. 
• Create orthodontic aligners and retainers that provide more personalized solutions for patients with varying degrees of occlusion. 
• Develop surgical guides and example models to both help provide in-depth examples for patients learning about their treatment plans and help assist in surgical procedures to improve the accuracy rate of post-operational healing. 

Among these options and benefits, 3D printers are able to provide a better patient experience as a result, as they provide faster manufacturing times that would normally take longer with traditional methods. 

Teledentistry in Dental Website Design 

Dental consultations have moved beyond the office and, since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, have helped make dental care more accessible to patients. Patients in rural locations or those with disabilities can easily schedule and meet with their dentists online without having to be in-office. For dentists, teledentistry can help dentists provide better access to care in many ways, including:

• Reduce Overall Expenses: Dentists looking to help patients reduce the costliness of their appointments and procedures, especially for lower-income patients and restrictions with processing insurance claims for treatments, can help reduce the costs of their appointments by using teledentistry as an online medium for care. 
• Reinforce Prevention Practices: For practices looking to improve their prevention methods for patient care, teledentistry can be used for yearly checkups and follow-up appointments that don’t require them to be in-office for treatment. 
• Receive Patient Data Securely: In teledentistry sessions, patients can send relevant information to their dentists. This technology can also transfer images and host video calls, which can help ease transitions for new patients wanting to speak with their dentists about their care. 
• Build Patient Rapport: Not only does it remove the restrictions for underserved populations, but it also helps build trust for patients. Patients and their caregivers can see and talk to one another through video chats, and those online interactions can help connect patients to their dental care. If patients are able to have more positive experiences with their dentists through teledentistry, it’ll also help increase the likelihood of return and in-office meetings for treatment. 

Augmented and Virtual Reality Treatments

Both augmented reality and virtual reality, while different technologies altogether, have been slowly making their way into new forms of dental technology. 

Augmented reality, similar to superimposed filters found on social media apps, has found its way into educational and clinical settings, as this technology is able to provide live feedback for movements during treatment. In dental practices, dentists specializing in aesthetic and reconstructive procedures can use augmented reality to overlay virtual depictions of the patient’s potential outcomes. During this use, dentists can configure the overlay’s features before ever entering the surgery room and help inform patients about what their treatment will look like. 

Virtual reality, on the other hand, provides an immersive experience by using VR headsets and image-generating software. When integrated with dental technology, this has helped dental students training to become dentists. Observers can guide students on techniques and assist through the surgeon’s perspective. For those in clinical settings, patients can use dental technology VR to work through dental anxiety, as VR can depict calming nature scenes to help patients respond better during routine cleanings and treatment. 

Ways To Stay Informed For Future Dental Tech

Among all the options out there that haven’t been mentioned, it’s important to stay informed about how dentistry is evolving and how practices today are adopting dental technology in their workflow. For those wanting to invest in some of the latest dental technology and don’t know where to start, here are some recommendations to follow through on: 

• Attend Dental Conferences: Dental conferences can offer many opportunities for dentists in their field to connect with others and learn about new developments in treatment and the technologies that help advance them. If connected to a specific dental organization, look at their event calendar and plan ahead to attend one for some insight. 
• Subscribe To Industry Publications: Many dentist-specific industry publications offer a wealth of educational resources and studies about tech developments within these fields. By subscribing to these publications, more resources will be available to learn about and discover what technologies are making their way into standard dental practices. 
• Join Online Dental Networks: Online social platforms provide plenty of options to connect with dentists in similar fields and learn about their experiences. Alongside this, dentists can keep up with and discuss the dental technology advancements they’ve chosen to work with to improve their patient’s results. 

Leverage Your Dental Practice Online With Optimized360

Among the many options for upgrading your tech to today’s standards, one standard that should not be ignored is your online presence. If your website’s losing traffic and patients have been struggling to find you, then our team at Optimized360 can help. Through our team of dental SEO experts and web designers we can work to improve your practice’s allure, give your website more traction, and help patients seeking your care find you when they need you the most. For more information, contact us today to learn more about how we can make your website design attractive and your online presence valuable for your patients.