How an Intraoral Dental Camera Can Help Your Practice

Dental practices need state-of-the-art equipment to deliver exceptional patient care and make their team’s jobs easier. An intraoral dental camera is an essential tool for allowing close observation of hard-to-reach areas of the mouth. 

This camera’s compact, easy-to-use nature has made it a ‘must-have’ for modern intraoral dental care. Investing in the quality of your patient care will lead to better outcomes and bolster your revenues. 

Let’s run through how it works and why dental intraoral cameras can bring some enormous benefits to your practice. 

What is an Intraoral Camera?

The oral camera has always been an essential tool within the dental environment. Today, an intraoral dental camera allows dentists to project high-quality images of the inside of the mouth.

The lightweight nature of this tool makes it simple to manipulate and produces HD-quality color images of the teeth and gums.

Dentists can use the intraoral dental camera to see the corners of the mouth and spot the early signs of oral disease, including gingivitis and tooth decay. Some of the other intraoral camera uses include educating patients by allowing them to see what their dentist sees and to track the success of a prescribed treatment.

Far from being a cutting-edge tool reserved for premium practices, the dental camera has become an essential tool of the trade.

Benefits of Intraoral Cameras

Modern dental tools are not cheap. As a practice owner, you need to carefully consider whether the benefits of an intraoral camera outweigh the costs of investing in one.

Let’s explore the primary benefits of incorporating intraoral camera dentistry into your business:

• Preventative Care – Increase your chances of spotting the early signs of dental issues sooner. Nothing will escape your notice by getting a full 360-degree view of the mouth.
• Communication – Improve the way you communicate with your patients. By showing them what you see, it’s much easier to help them understand the current state of their dental health.
• See More – The anatomy of the mouth makes it a challenge for even the most seasoned dentists to see into those hard-to-reach places. An intraoral camera dental tool makes examinations a breeze.
• Treatment Tracking – Rather than forcing a patient to keep their mouths open for long periods of time, you can track the success of any treatments, such as fillings, veneers, and crowns, much quicker, thus enhancing the patient experience.
• Better Dental Outcomes – Ultimately, intraoral camera dentistry is about making your job easier, being more effective in your treatments, and delivering better outcomes.

There are no downsides to incorporating the latest oral camera technology into your business. Make your team’s life easier with intraoral camera benefits that pay off by offering a better service. Impress your clientele by investing in them.

How to Choose an Intraoral Camera for Your Practice

Medical devices come in all shapes and sizes and hit every price point. Figuring out which camera best suits your practice’s needs (and budget) is far from easy.

Shop around and examine your options. With so many brands, you need to focus on a few key areas before making a final decision.

Image Quality

The basic specs of a camera aren’t the best guide for deciphering the quality of the images it’ll produce. So many factors go into determining how good your images will be. It’s not unheard of for camera manufacturers to claim to offer HD images, even though their images aren’t truly HD.

Some of the aspects that could impact image quality beyond the specs include:

• Auto-focus
• Zoom
• Capture time

Look at some samples of the actual images captured by that camera. You want a quick capture time to ensure your patients aren’t waiting too long to receive their images. Plus, it goes without saying that the images must be sharp.

It’s also worth talking to other dentists about their cameras and whether they’re satisfied.

Ergonomics

Dental professionals know how much the profession takes a heavy toll on the body. You’ll use an intraoral dental camera constantly.

For this reason, search for a lightweight, ergonomic design. Pay attention to every gram because every weighty addition counts.
Never choose additional features over a camera’s weight.

Ease of Use

These invaluable tools can revolutionize how you provide top-tier dental care to your patients. Any good camera will integrate into your existing workflow and be easy to use.

More complex cameras requiring formal training in using them are disruptive and frustrating. Keep it simple and ensure your new intraoral camera dental tool uses the plug-and-play approach.

What’s Included?

There are plenty of horror stories regarding dentists who have paid for cameras only to find out they have to pay extra for software, essential features, and customer support.

Those incredibly cheap cameras that are too good to be true usually are. Comb through the contract, and don’t be afraid to get in touch with the provider to find out what’s included in your contract.

High ongoing costs can quickly diminish the returns of investing in an intraoral dental camera.

One feature that should be considered critical is a money-back guarantee. Look for a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try out the camera without worrying about being stuck with a tool that doesn’t work for you.

An increasing number of manufacturers even offer free, no-obligation trials to help you get to grips with a camera. While there’s still a cost to trying out a camera that potentially doesn’t work for you, it’s a fantastic way of getting acquainted with a new piece of equipment.

Cost

The cost must be a factor when adding something new to your practice. Think about the cost of the camera and the cost of not having the camera, such as a diminished patient experience, lost efficiency, and lost opportunity.

Contrary to popular belief, the days of paying thousands of dollars for a high-quality camera are over. Competition has brought the prices down.

Quality is not necessarily defined by price. Several low-cost camera manufacturers deliver an incredible experience.

Do your research and examine some of the most popular cameras. You might be surprised at how affordable a high-performance dental camera can be.

Conclusion

Technology is the heart and soul of the dental industry. So whether you want to learn how to grow your dental practice or are simply looking for fresh dentistry management ideas, incorporating the latest technologies into your clinic’s workflow is a proven method for success.

While investing in technology is crucial, effective management is the foundation of a strong practice. Cloud 9 offers the industry’s leading specialty dental practice management software. Our cloud-based platform is at your fingertips so you can manage every aspect of your business anywhere, any time.

For the best in dental practice solutions, choose Cloud 9. Request your free demo today to learn more about how we can transform your practice.