How integrating technologies can help your practice

Before Dr. Edmond Suh integrated his Planmeca PlanScan intraoral scanner and his Dentrix practice management software, he would have told you that Dentrix was a great front desk software. However, after using the two together for around six months-as well as the integration of his Planmeca Romexis software and DEXIS sensors-he will tell you now that Dentrix has become a central hub for all his patient care. 

“I’ve got the ability now to run and integrate all of my CAD/CAM , digital scans and images into my Dentrix patient chart,” Dr. Suh explains. “But not only that, but I also have the ability to run a CT scan in the back and have it also fully integrated within my patient chart as well.”

Dr. Suh marvels at how much easier it is to find what he needs with all the information in one place. Before the integration, he went back and forth between different pieces of software for information. Now his 2D, 3D, CAD/CAM and CT scans are all in one place.  

“Romexis is a separate piece of software much like DEXIS is a separate piece of software. But because it’s a button sitting on the patient chart, it’s seamless. It’s like it’s all one congruent software,” Dr. Suh says. 

Dr. Suh admits he didn’t know what he was missing before the integration, nor did he realize the impact it would have on his workflow. When he heard about integration, he thought it was “a nice little checkbox in terms of what it could do.” Also, his old system worked fine. He would perform his diagnostic procedure, then double-click a button to open the app, enter the patient number and chart information to transfer the data, and move on with what he was doing.

Now, with the integration between his Dentrix software and his PlanScan scanner, he doesn’t have to click on anything or populate that information. The scan goes into the chart automatically. 

“It’s silly how nice it is,” Dr. Suh says. “You don’t realize how cumbersome it was to go back in there and do it the old way we’ve been doing it for so many years.”

The new protocol for patients is simple. The team clicks on the button, and all the information they need for the patient is fully populated. “We can’t mess up the process,” he says.

The only annoying part of the process was searching for old patient information that hadn’t been transitioned into his Romexis software system. “But otherwise everything we’ve been doing for the past few months is pretty much just a one-button click to get all the information we need.”

Dr. Suh said he feels fortunate that his systems came together in the way they did. He initially chose Dentrix because of its easy integration with DEXIS. When he first got into scanning, his scanner wasn’t part of Planmeca. Then Planmeca acquired his scanner’s company and put it under its Romexis software umbrella, along with the CT unit. Now, having the CT and CAD experience integrated into his patient charts has made a huge difference in his workflow. 

“If I wanted to look at my patient chart, I can pull up every CAD file or any intraoral scan I took of a patient at any point in time. And, I can pick up any CT image, any 3D image I’ve ever taken, and it’s all under the same patient chart,” explains Dr. Suh. “That’s a pretty easy, seamless thing to do. I don’t need to fish through and search to find different patient’s CT information anymore.”

Dr. Suh encourages doctors to take full advantage of integrating your technology into your Dentrix practice management software. Mixing and matching technology can be powerful when making the digital transition, but he advises doctors to look at the complete functionality of his or her practice. Thinking of each piece of digital technology as a separate entity instead of integrated together under one software system is the wrong mindset, particularly in the day-to-day work of a dental practice. 

“If you don’t have to worry about how you’re trying to integrate all the technology in your office, it’s a much easier process for everyone involved trying to get the information that we need to take care of our patients in the manner that we want,” he says.