Australian Dental Journal
The official journal of the Australian Dental Association
EDITORIAL
Australian Dental Journal 2013; 58: 389 doi: 10.1111/adj.12128
The Technology Revolution is Here – Are You Prepared for it? There is a saying that some of the things we will be using in five years have not yet been invented. Clearly the technology revolution is upon us, not only in our daily lives, but also in our professional lives. Ten years ago would we have considered that Volumetric Cone Beam Computed Tomography, automatic SMS reminder messages for our patients, new age dental materials, diagnostics and changing paradigms for our understanding of dental diseases would be in every day use in our dental practices? The changes which are occurring are sometimes happening at breakneck speed. A new terminology has emerged to cope with these changes termed ‘Mission Critical’ technologies and these apply to both our clinical and practice management activities. Historically (well, at least last century) technological changes in dentistry were very slow to be introduced and accepted. Now, almost two decades into the new millennium, ‘game changing’ technologies are presented to us almost on a daily basis. In the past, companies stuck to their tried and tested technologies but now all of the major (and of course many minor) dental industry companies are constantly seeking new technologies to give them a competitive edge. These technologies are then presented to us either directly by the dental industry, or through industry supported continuing education programmes. Notwithstanding the excitement of these developments, we must be ever vigilant that what is being presented is founded in good science, good ethics and good patient care. This is not always the case. Some specific areas which I fear are being overenthusiastically presented to the unsuspecting dental practitioner are dental implant systems with little or no scientific appraisal, laser treatments which have little or no rigorous controlled clinical trial data to support their claims of clinical superiority over more conventional treatments, unfounded claims that oral hygiene aids will somehow alleviate various systemic conditions, and the list could go on and on. Regardless of this we can expect that the technological revolution will continue and those who remain in ‘static practice’ will be rapidly left behind as emerging technologies will become increasingly critical to modern dental practice to assist in patient care, enable even more productive and enjoyable practice and, of course, provide a competitive edge in an ever evolving market. Clearly the market place is changing, with a move towards larger multi-practitioner practices with large resources and capabilities to invest in such technologies. It would seem that in the not too distant future practices which have not embraced changes incorporating the digital revolution, implant technologies and optical scanning will quickly become, if not obsolete, very uncompetitive in the market place. Is this change for the better? I do not know. What I do know is that these changes will present our profession with significant psychological, financial and human resources challenges. Are we up to the challenge?
P Mark Bartold AM Editor
© 2013 Australian Dental Association
389
The official journal of the Australian Dental Association
EDITORIAL
Australian Dental Journal 2013; 58: 389 doi: 10.1111/adj.12128
The Technology Revolution is Here – Are You Prepared for it? There is a saying that some of the things we will be using in five years have not yet been invented. Clearly the technology revolution is upon us, not only in our daily lives, but also in our professional lives. Ten years ago would we have considered that Volumetric Cone Beam Computed Tomography, automatic SMS reminder messages for our patients, new age dental materials, diagnostics and changing paradigms for our understanding of dental diseases would be in every day use in our dental practices? The changes which are occurring are sometimes happening at breakneck speed. A new terminology has emerged to cope with these changes termed ‘Mission Critical’ technologies and these apply to both our clinical and practice management activities. Historically (well, at least last century) technological changes in dentistry were very slow to be introduced and accepted. Now, almost two decades into the new millennium, ‘game changing’ technologies are presented to us almost on a daily basis. In the past, companies stuck to their tried and tested technologies but now all of the major (and of course many minor) dental industry companies are constantly seeking new technologies to give them a competitive edge. These technologies are then presented to us either directly by the dental industry, or through industry supported continuing education programmes. Notwithstanding the excitement of these developments, we must be ever vigilant that what is being presented is founded in good science, good ethics and good patient care. This is not always the case. Some specific areas which I fear are being overenthusiastically presented to the unsuspecting dental practitioner are dental implant systems with little or no scientific appraisal, laser treatments which have little or no rigorous controlled clinical trial data to support their claims of clinical superiority over more conventional treatments, unfounded claims that oral hygiene aids will somehow alleviate various systemic conditions, and the list could go on and on. Regardless of this we can expect that the technological revolution will continue and those who remain in ‘static practice’ will be rapidly left behind as emerging technologies will become increasingly critical to modern dental practice to assist in patient care, enable even more productive and enjoyable practice and, of course, provide a competitive edge in an ever evolving market. Clearly the market place is changing, with a move towards larger multi-practitioner practices with large resources and capabilities to invest in such technologies. It would seem that in the not too distant future practices which have not embraced changes incorporating the digital revolution, implant technologies and optical scanning will quickly become, if not obsolete, very uncompetitive in the market place. Is this change for the better? I do not know. What I do know is that these changes will present our profession with significant psychological, financial and human resources challenges. Are we up to the challenge?
P Mark Bartold AM Editor
© 2013 Australian Dental Association
389
