The end of the film panorex is finally upon us.  Most panorex manufacturers no longer sell film pans and aside from retrofits and phosphor plate systems the film panorex has reached the end of its product life cycle.  The digital panorex has finally reached full maturity and has taken over the market based on its lower operational costs and increased diagnostic quality.  The market has broken roughly into three categories.  The entry level panorex, the mid-level and the 3D upgradeable units. Typically the entry level doesn’t have the ability to add feature such as Ceph arms, TMJ, Tomographic and 3D capabilities.  The mid-level will add the ability to make more custom settings for items like TMJ, sinus and bite-wings within the Pan’s interface.  Most mid-level Pans also give the ability to add Ceph arms.  The highest level pans allow for sensor upgrades to full 3d CBCT acquisition. Of course this all varies by brand and each manufacturer has slightly different configurations and options.   I tend to like the brands that have been around for a long time, like Planmeca, Sirona, and Sordex/Instrumentarium to name a few.  These units tend to be more reliable and have a tradition of customer service and parts availability that make them very easy to troubleshoot and fix.  I also see most R&D in these companies both in 2D and 3D imaging.  This assures that if you are looking at an upgrade path that these units will have a higher probability of being upgradable in the future. Digital Pans have proven to be one of the best investments both from a financial and diagnostic standpoint.  A digital panorex can really change the work flow of an office to give a more complete radiographic exam with a pan and four bite-wings.  The increased resolution and sensitivity of modern digital panorex far exceeds the quality of older film units.  This along with their almost negligible marginal cost of operation makes them a very valuable tool in almost any dental office.  I typically look at these purchases with a 20 year time frame.  Because the capital expense will be spread over such a long time a small difference in price from one manufacturer to the next is really less important as getting the features and quality that you desire.  I truly believe there should be a digital panorex in every dental practice.

We have had many questions from clients regarding the counterfeit proof prescription pads.  Here is an article released by the State Surgeon General regarding a suspension on the requirement of these pads for 60 days. STATE SURGEON GENERAL STATEMENT Also here is a link to Frequently Asked Questions regarding these pads from the Florida Department of Health Recently one of our preferred vendors let us know about the 60 day suspension as well as the fact that these pads do NOT have to be used for EVERY prescription written by your office.  Only for controlled substances as listed here  which can help many General Dentist offices keep costs down because they don’t write as many of these types of prescriptions.

These shortcuts are awesome.  Quick ways to lock your pc, permanently delete items, create new folders, and more…One of my favorites is Windows key + D…takes you directly to your desktop minimizing all of your open wondows so you don’t have to close each one individually… Check this article out for more

Does your computer browse the internet slower than usual?  Are there new icons and search buttons mysteriously making their way onto your Internet Explorer browser?  Does Internet Explorer shut down unexpectedly?  Then you may have an internet browser full of unnecessary toolbars and add-ons.  Give it a few hours and after surfing the internet you may unknowingly download a toolbar or add-on onto your Internet Explorer.  These items will forever be reloaded into your Internet Explorer every time you browse the internet.  Toolbars like The Weather Channel or AOL seem convenient but they bring instability to Internet Explorer.  Microsoft themselves have stated that the reason Internet Explorer may become instable is from all of the toolbars and add-ons that other parties have developed to promote products. Removing these toolbars and add-ons will clean up your Internet Explorer browser and speed up your Internet Browsing experience.   To do this, click on Tools located on the menu bar.  Then at the bottom of the Tools window, click on Internet Options.  Click on the Advanced tab in the upper right hand corner.  Then click on the Reset button at the bottom right hand corner.  Check the box to delete personal settings, then click Reset.  If you have saved passwords to certain websites in Internet Explorer, leave this box unchecked and click Reset.  You will have to close and re open Internet Explorer to complete the clean up.  This will reset Internet Explorer to its default settings by removing cookies, clearing your history, and temporary files that slow down Internet Explorer’s performance.

Google Maps already allows you to add pictures of the outside of your office building as well as other information that is great to provide to potential patients and is free of charge.  If you haven’t already updated your local listing, we suggest you do that before any other SEO.   Google just released that starting next week they will allow “Business Photos” which allows any business to invite a Google photographer onsite to take photos of the interior of the office.  It will be interested to see how this turns out, but I think it will be a great add on to the already helpful local listing.If you need help setting that up give us a call .

There are several benefits to having an internal security camera system in your office.  Of course they help with theft prevention and prosecution of burglary and/or misuse of controlled substances.  Security cameras also give you the ability to follow not only your staff’s location, but also your patients’.  This really helps with work flow and being aware of people waiting or in need of assistance.  They are especially beneficial in larger offices where the doctor may not realize that a room is ready, or a patient/staff member is waiting.  These systems consist of cameras placed throughout the office.  Depending on the layout, you may have them in operatories or in halls and some offices also included exterior cameras for the parking lot and/or the front/back door.  These cameras are wired to a central computer that records all the video to a hard drive.  This computer is accessible through the Internet so you can monitor the office when you are not there.  There is software that you can load on any computers in your office so that you can view the camera images from any station.  Wiring requirements usually necessitate a power supply and cable runs to the cameras.  There are wireless systems available but an electrician will have to provide power to each location.  We recommend you always consult a certified installer to assure your installation will meet code.