Turn that Frown Upside Down by Educating Patients on Your Digital Dental Technology

The Zoom Effect has everyone thinking more about their smiles these days. However, a 2019 global survey* of people’s feeling towards the oral healthcare industry and the technology used found that patients aren’t smiling about a trip to the dentist. In fact, more than 50% of people feel anxious about going to see their oral healthcare provider. The reason? Well, the survey sheds some light on what’s making some patients nervous: A quarter of the people who have felt anxious or scared when it comes to going to the dentist say the dental equipment is the reason why.

Oral healthcare professionals have watched dental tech grow by leaps and bounds in the past decade. Digital dental technology has streamlined workflows for doctors and team members and has made appointments faster, more comfortable, less messy and in some cases safer for patients (think, less exposure during pans and CBCT scans). Those who have been practicing for years can compare the experience of planning implants off 2D X-rays and placing them freehand to virtual implant planning and guided surgery today and wonder what patients are so afraid of when digital technology has contributed to better outcomes.

Perhaps doctors and their teams are too close to the situation. It may surprise oral healthcare professionals to find less than half of patients believe their doctor uses very advanced technology. That perception hurts the industry as a whole. When asked which healthcare industries use the most advanced technology people ranked oral healthcare third, behind orthopedics and optical. 

But, it’s not too late to change people’s perception. Patients can sense that technology changes their experience at the dentist’s office, with 95% agreeing they receive better care when advanced technology is used. Patients are hungry for more information about the technology their doctor uses, with two out of three indicating they want their oral healthcare provider to talk in more detail about the technology used during their visit. So, the next step is educating patients on why and how digital dental technology makes it better, which can lead to happier patients. In fact, three quarters of patients who reported a positive experience at their last dental visit said their dentist or dental assistant shared information about the technology used during their exams or treatments.  

Let your patients know about the digital dental technology you use in your practice and start seeing more smiles.

*Digital Dentistry Difference: 2019 Global Consumer Survey. The online study was conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of Carestream Dental between November 12 and November 24, 2019, among surveyed 7,000 nationally representative adults across seven global markets: Canada, China, France, Germany, India, the UK and the U.S.