In my last column we talked about file storage, maintenance, and servers. I would like to start talking now about what you can do with your images once you have them properly saved to your hard drive, whether it is your server or a stand alone computer such as a laptop or a computer in your consult room.
Two of the most common uses for dental images are case presentation and digital smile designs. The images can be shown to the patient on high definition computer monitors and/or printed out for the patient to vie at a later date. In addition to printing the images can also be burned to a CD or emailed for later viewing by the patient. Digital smile design is a way of referring to image editing where the patient’s smile is “restored” with a computer simulation to show the patient possible results. These can a very powerful tool for case presentation and treatment acceptance. Before you purchase image editing and archiving software, there are some consideration you should make in order for your office to get a return on its investment.
No matter how much or little you spend on software, or any product for that matter, if it just sits on your shelf it will not make you any additional money to give you a return on your investment. If you as the dentist or any of your team members are not dedicated to becoming proficient using the software on a daily basis then it may not be the right time for you to invest in this technology. This is a personal decision you will have to make based on your own desires and office goals.
How much you are willing to invest on this type software is also an important consideration. Let me say something ridiculous and then explain what I mean. The less you or your team is dedicated toward using this type of software the more you should spend on it. OK, I know, that makes little sense. Why spend on something you may not use much. But consider this before you think I am nuts. The software that cost the most, such as Dentrix Image, Image FX, Visora, etc, are for easier to use than cheaper software such as Adobe Photoshop or Elements, Thumbs Plus, etc. Adobe Photoshop is the gold standard according to graphic artist. If Adobe can’t do it then it probably can be done when it comes to editing. But Adobe Photoshop and Elements are not easy to learn, especially for a beginner. Once mastered, they are incredibly powerful to use. But you need to be very dedicated to using them, including taking a course if you can’t learn it on your own. Dr. Jerome Smith teaches a great course using Adobe Photoshop at LSU. Adobe Photoshop will cost $700-$800, Elements will cost just over a $100 and Thumbs Plus will cost just under $100. On the other end of the spectrum are programs like Image Fx, Dentrix Image, and Visora which cost between $3500 and $5000. While these programs do cost considerably more than their counter parts, they are much easier to use. First, they archive your images. What this means is that the images are saved “within” these software automatically which makes for easy storage and retrieval. Programs like Adobe Photoshop do not catalog and store your images. Hey simply read and manipulate images found on your hard drive. You have to manually save and catalog your images when using them. But remember that they did not cost that much. The more expensive softwares are designed for dental editing and are built around the desires of dental practices. Bleaching teeth, recreating smiles by laying an image of a beautiful smile on top of the patients original smile, closing diastema and lengthening teeth, etc, are very easy to master even by inexperienced team members. These software also have built in case presentation modules for showing your patients what is possible. With Adobe Photoshop, Thumbs Plus, etc, you can have the patient view the images with a slide show setting. However, a program like Microsoft Power Point would be needed to create case presentations equal to what you can do with programs like Dentrix Image. While Power Point is easy to use and master, it is still another program for you or your team to learn and use.
Each of these programs has their advantages and disadvantages and I am not trying to steer any of you towards a particular one. In my office I use Image FX for storing clinical images and case presentation. I use Thumbs Plus for all my printing of cases for display on my walls. I create all my marketing pieces with Adobe Photoshop. And I use Microsoft Power Point to create digital brochures we send out to all of our new patients. Next time we will talk about advantages of different team members using the software and advantages of different locations within your office for digital case presentations.