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In the current competitive dental landscape, patient outcomes and experiences are critical to the successful growth of Dental Service Organizations (DSOs). As such, today’s DSOs are increasingly embracing innovative ways to engage and empower patients for improved outcomes while driving their own efficiencies and productivity. That includes adopting AI-powered digital tools that enable practices across DSOs to help patients better visualize, understand, and accept treatment plans that promote positive dental health and patient experiences.
Routine oral hygiene visits present the ideal opportunity to enhance patient engagement, outcomes, and satisfaction — a powerful trifecta that brings patients back time and again. Recognizing this opportunity, many DSOs incorporate digital technology into regular hygiene appointments across their practices, beginning with intraoral scanning.
Fast Chairside Scans
The DEXISTM IS 3800W intraoral scanner and DEXIS IS ScanFlow software provide the ideal starting point for routine hygiene visits. Compact, lightweight, and portable, the IS 3800W is an easy-to-use intraoral scanner that enables hygienists to capture both arches and the patient’s bite in a continuous, smooth pattern for viewing in the IS ScanFlow software — all within two minutes.
Using the scanner’s embedded sensor and innovative gesture recognition, hygienists can easily orient the digital model of the patient’s teeth and switch from upper to lower arch views on the screen by simply rotating the scanner. This gesture motion control capability eliminates the need to touch the mouse or keyboard, promoting infection prevention and supporting compliance while allowing staff to stay focused on the patient.
Hygienists and staff also have the option to use the mobile DEXIS IS Voyager trolley and All in One Computer to scan and display on-screen images right at the patient’s chair. With the IS Voyager, clinicians have the flexibility to manipulate scans using either the touchscreen or the wand for hands-free operation. With the recent addition of a robust battery backup, staff can now move the Voyager system freely from room to room without interrupting the workflow. This supports increased efficiency and productivity, reduces patient chair time, and elevates the overall patient experience.
Quick, Clean Images
Once the scans have been captured, hygienists can leverage IS ScanFlow’s AI-powered features to automatically remove soft tissue such as cheeks, lips, gloves, and tongue. This feature saves staff the time-consuming task of manually trimming those structures, again improving productivity, while allowing patients to instantly view clean images. While providing patients with added visibility and confidence into their diagnosis, practices can also accelerate treatment planning which in turn allows them to see and treat more patients.
When it’s time to consult, clinicians now have clean scans ready to share with the patient chair-side on a screen. Within IS ScanFlow, clinicians can show patients’ upper and lower arches together or individually, from multiple angles and perspectives, and zoom in on details they want to draw attention to. Doctors can even measure gum-line recession and share this visual information with patients to encourage them to accept the recommended treatment.
Seeing Is Believing
For many patients, seeing is believing — the first critical step to case acceptance. While sharing screen views of scans, clinicians can reinforce their diagnosis and encourage acceptance by employing physical mirrors in real-time to point out specific areas in their patients’ oral environment. This enables patients to compare what they see with their own eyes, inside their mouths, with the compelling visual evidence presented by the on-screen scans.
Once the intraoral scans are captured, cleaned, and stored in IS ScanFlow, the clinical team can easily access and review those scans with their patient at their oral hygiene appointment. This enables both clinicians and patients to monitor any changes that indicate wear, tear, occlusion, receding gum lines, crowding of teeth, and other potential conditions over time that require treatment. Patients appreciate the proactive care they receive, which makes them more likely to return to the practice for future appointments — driving recurring revenue for the DSO.
Capturing the Complete Picture
Showing patients visible changes in their teeth is an effective way to engage them, encourage case acceptance, and increase revenue opportunities. The DEXIS digital workflow delivers this level of visibility patients want and appreciate by revealing the complete picture of the patient’s dental health.
As part of the DEXIS digital workflow, the IS 3800W intraoral scanner and IS ScanFlow software integrate seamlessly with DTX StudioTM Clinic software to provide a broad range of diagnostic tools. This integration enables the clinical team to store, access, view, and share all patient images — 2D, 3D, CBCT, intraoral scans, and clinical photos — on a single screen for a complete picture of the patient’s oral hygiene.
An integrated, single-screen view of all patient images provides an advantage for a wide range of procedures and specialties. For instance, patients who grind their teeth may be reluctant to purchase a night guard. Within DTX Studio Clinic, clinicians can show the progression of wear on the patient’s teeth caused by bruxism and discuss the possibility of future damage, allowing the patient to better understand and accept the need for treatment.
DTX Studio Clinic offers a powerful solution for showcasing changes in patients’ oral health and track the shifting of teeth over time. By utilizing the stored images, clinicians can efficiently demonstrate to patients the changes occurring inside their mouths and present a treatment plan that effectively addresses these concerns. Patients have the visual evidence they need to make informed decisions and actively engage in their treatment options. Practices have the powerful tools they need to improve case acceptance and expand treatment offerings.
Easy Use with Every Oral Hygiene Visit, at Every Location
While making it easier for patients to understand and accept their diagnosis and treatment plan with visual clarity and confidence, the IS 3800W, IS ScanFlow, and DTX Studio Clinic software make it easy for clinical teams across DSO locations to provide a consistently exceptional level of patient care. Intuitive features and minimal training requirements mean staff can start accessing the efficiencies of an AI-enabled digital workflow right away for every patient hygiene visit to reveal the complete picture, enhance patient engagement, and grow their practice. Learn more at dexis.com.