I Use That: Futudent EduCam

Dr. Wayne Hollar first began using loupe-mounted cameras in 2007-and hasn’t picked up his intraoral camera since.

He’s always been happy with the various benefits loupe-mounted cameras provide, and in 2014 made the switch to Futudent. Not only did Futudent offer the camera with the highest-resolution at the time, the company also provided the best support. Here’s a look at some of the other benefits video dentistry has brought to his practice over the years.  

What Dr. Wayne Hollar says about Futudent’s loupe-mounted camera

There are a lot of benefits. I use the camera every day on every patient. It’s a different application for different patients because I use it in hygiene exams, limited problem focused exams and for restorative procedures. For hygiene, as I do an exam patients watch on an overhead monitor and can see what I see. So they’re able to literally visualize what I’m saying to them. The same is true with a problem-focused exam.

When I use the camera for restorative procedures, the patients aren’t watching at all. They’re watching TV. I have the output of the camera displayed on the monitor behind me and my assistants are able to see exactly what I see, which is helpful. If an assistant can’t see the tooth I’m working on, then I can’t see the tooth I’m working on. If the field is blocked by their suction tip or air water syringe or just water on my mirror, they see that in real time and can respond appropriately.

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Going back to hygiene checks, besides the ability to co-diagnose with adult patients, Futudent also helps us build a rapport with pediatric patients. We talk about seeing their teeth on TV and we make it a game. They see exactly what we’re doing with the mirror and explorer, which helps reduce their anxiety.

My hygienists also document as I’m doing the exam. They see what I’m seeing on an adjacent screen as they’re writing or charting.

A loupe-mounted camera is like an intraoral camera except it’s hands-free. Anybody who’s ever used an intraoral camera knows there’s problems with it fogging and there’s also problems with trying to orient and get the camera right at the surface you’re trying to demonstrate. There are just nuisances with getting it where you want it and showing exactly what you want to show. With the loupe-mounted camera you don’t have that at all. Basically whatever I’m viewing through my loupes the camera is showing on the monitor. I get a much better image than an intraoral camera could ever get. In that regard it really helps people understand and take ownership of the problem. Otherwise they’d just be taking our word for it.

There’s a huge benefit to having people see what you see live, but you also can record anything either in still pictures or video and share that recorded image This could be handy when a grandparent brings in a grandchild for a hygiene visit, for example. We can record the video and simply send a link to the parent. I don’t do that every day, but I do use the camera on every patient every day for some function or another. The wow factor really never gets old, and the intangible rewards of what it helps you and your team members do and what it helps your patients understand are big.