Visualization. There’s a reason advanced imaging and video technologies are among the biggest trends in dentistry. Used effectively, giving your patients the ability to experience your exact point of view can help you educate them through your diagnosis and treatment plans. Providing patients with a chairside visual has been a powerful tool towards achieving greater treatment acceptance.
Increased treatment acceptance and its impact on your bottom line is the reason why many dental technologies focus heavily on providing you and your patients with a visualization aid. The patient experience is brought to life through a first-hand visual experience of what the doctor is telling them – in a way the patient could never see themselves.
When it comes down to the business of dentistry, it can be incredibly helpful to have tools that give patients the confidence they need to proceed with treatment – all while minimizing the amount you need to “sell” your treatment plan. Because “seeing is believing,” it’s no wonder why dental professionals across the globe are incorporating images and videos in their practices to plan and record treatments, as well as to assist in case documentation and insurance claims.
A dental microscope with an integrated digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera, HD video source and mounted monitor display can become a powerful visualization tool for many doctors. Not only does the scope provide the doctor with a magnified visual with improved illumination and ergonomic benefits but, when used in conjunction with a camera and monitor, can be used to present the finest details to your patients – all in real-time.
So, how can a dental microscope help you when it comes to “selling” treatment plans? To help answer this question, we’ll give you some tips and tricks we’ve picked up on from our experience working with doctors.
We’ve been in business over 25 years, manufacturing dental microscopes designed to help doctors with visualization, magnification, illumination and vastly superior ergonomics. And, in speaking with our customers, we have a detailed understanding of how a dental microscope can be an effective sales tool without requiring those uncomfortable “sales pitches”.
- Tips for General Dentists
- Tips for Endodontic Procedures
- Tips for Restorative Dentistry
- Tips for Communicating with Patients
- Tips for Mounting Your Scope & Monitor
Tips for General Dentists
With many GPs expanding their clinical services, more practices are able to minimize their outsourcing/referrals for specialty procedures. Plus, as specialized dental technologies become more accessible, general dentists are able to take advantage of advanced precision and accuracy to help improve efficiency.
Just like cone beam/CBCT revolutionized dental X-ray imaging, the dental microscope has done the same for magnification in dentistry. By enhancing visibility with magnification up to 20X what the naked eye can see, integrated lighting to reduce shadows, and photo/video recording attachments, a dental microscope can help GPs treat and educate patients more effectively.
And, when you lead your local competition by offering technologies like a dental microscope, which is designed to improve your accuracy and precision, patients can be more trusting that you’ll provide the best results.
To help you get the word out about your investment in dental microscopy, and attract new patients in your local market, we wrote the help article: How to Market Your Dental Microscope.
Tips for Endodontic Procedures
In endodontics, a dental microscope is widely adopted as the de facto standard of care for finding hidden and accessory canals, locating and removing separated instruments and preserving more tooth structure. These are just a few examples of how the high powers of magnification of a dental microscope help doctors with procedures in ways no other tool can.
When it comes to presenting these discoveries to your patient, you can enhance their experience with the visual aid of your dental microscope – providing a view of what you see behind the binoculars in a monitor they can view from their exam chair.
By providing leading accuracy and precision through your dental microscope, you can also lend credibility and confidence with your referral network. One of the best ways to impress not only patients but also referring dentists is to share intraoperative images and videos of your procedures. This will demonstrate the detailed, quality work you are providing to the referrer’s patients.
By getting the word out about your procedural enhancements offered by the surgical microscope, patients can enter rest-assured that your treatment plan will be properly executed.
To help you get the word out about your investment, both to your referral base as well as new patients, we wrote the help article: How to Market Your Dental Microscope.
Tips for Restorative Dentistry
The visualization and magnification of a dental microscope helps provide detailed images of the oral tissue, teeth, and gums during your restorative prep. During the restoration, a microscope can:
- Increase precision of crown margin preparation
- Aid in inspection of marginal fit of restorations
- Facilitate finishing and polishing of margins
- Help ensure that all excess cement has been removed
- Minimize the “iffy” diagnosis
By owning and operating a dental microscope, you’re providing a clear signal that your diagnosis and treatment plans can be trusted. When you present your discoveries of what you’re seeing behind your binoculars on a monitor, your patient can be guided through your diagnosis and better understand your treatment plans.
With no visual representation of what’s going on in their mouth, doctors are relying solely on their reputation and punchy verbiage to get their point across as to what treatment options they recommend. This literally leaves patients “blind” – with only what they’re hearing and feeling to persuade them to proceed with treatment. And, as doctors are aware, any pain or discomfort their patient may be experiencing could get worse over time if not treated correctly and in a timely manner.
Also, as we shared earlier, it’s a good idea to get the word out about your investment in a dental microscope. To many patients, it may show your dedication to providing greater precision and accuracy – giving them more confidence when they come to see you.
Here are some simple tips to help you get started: How to Market Your Dental Microscope.
Tips for Communicating with Patients
Every dentist and specialist is going to have their unique approach when it comes to communicating and educating patients. For many patients, it’s the communication and presentation by their dentist that keeps them coming back to them for regular checkups and treatments as needed. After all, your patients want a trusting relationship with you, so that you can guide them through any treatments that may be necessary to preserve their oral health.
The old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words”, has often been extended to include “ a video is worth a million”, which couldn’t be more true in dentistry. Visualization can be the key to bringing treatment options to life, by showing greater precision, under higher levels of magnification than what the naked eye can see alone.
But don’t just take our word on it, listen to what other Global customers have to say about how their patients feel about their microscope:
- “[My Global microscope] has been a wonderful addition to my practice and my patients view it as another example of my dedication to their dentistry.” – Dr. Michael C. McVicker, DDS
- “[My Global microscope] has especially played a pivotal role in helping me to better educate my patients and significantly decreasing the amount of time needed in forming trusting relationships with them.” – Dr. Donato Napoletano, DMD
- “Patients appreciate the microscope as a tool for communication and accept my treatment plans with confidence. In short, microscopes enhance dentistry itself.” – Dr. Jill E. Hansen, DDS
- “I use it EVERY day, for endo, composites, crowns and bridges, even surgery sometimes! On kids, on adults, most patients are impressed.” – Dr. Alain Gagnon, DDS
Tips for Mounting Your Scope & Monitor
The next practical thing that may be on your mind when considering a scope is how you’ll present this visual to your patients. While the DSLR camera and HD video sources help save and share the visuals captured by your scope, you’ll need to think practically about where you want to set up monitors so you, your staff and your patient can all see the visuals at once.
Some doctors we speak with prefer to set up 3 monitors in their exam room for this purpose, allowing a screen for the doctor, one angled towards the hygienists or assistants, and one on the ceiling (or angled) to be viewed by the patient facing up in the exam chair.
Of course, you’ll want to consider how your exam room is configured and who may need to be able to utilize the scope’s binoculars, with the real-time visual blown up on a monitor screen. At Global Surgical, we’ve considered nearly every configuration to help doctors maximize their choice on how their scope will be monitored. This is why we offer more mounting options for your scope than any other manufacturer.
To help doctors with configuring their scope, based on different exam rooms, we’ve written the article: How to Mount a Dental Microscope.
BONUS: Tips for Camera Selection
For our final stop, we’ll review popular camera attachment options available for dental microscopes. This is a crucial consideration, as it will impact the quality of your presentation.
Pro Tip: Watch out for being sold an integrated camera system with your dental microscope. With video cameras, many scope manufacturers only offer these as an integrated camera system. This means the camera is built into your scope, which offers convenience – but limits your ability to upgrade your camera in the future.
As camera technology changes every few months, in a few years you are quickly locked into old technology without the ability to change at a reasonable cost. Instead of being able to upgrade your camera, you’ll need to upgrade your entire microscope to get the latest technology.
At Global Surgical, we support customers by offering video camera adapters which allow you to attach your preferred camera without requiring an upgrade to your microscope! As part of our commitment to our customer’s satisfaction, we strive to do our best to design our microscopes to be modular and upgradeable, thus greatly minimizing the possibility of obsolescence.
Questions? Reach Out!
If you’re considering adding a microscope to your practice and need advice on configuration, we are here to help!
For over 25 years, we’ve been helping dental practices maximize their investment in microscopy. We’re proud to be based in the US, with manufacturing and assembly facilities in St. Louis, MO. This helps us give our customers the best service, domestically and internationally. And, as part of our commitment to our customers, we offer a limited lifetime warranty on our scopes (US & Canada customers only).
Please feel free to reach out at 800-861-3585 or by clicking the button below.
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