CDEN0310

14 I I clinical report _ imaging _Digital imaging in dentistry is a field of expanding possibilities and applications. Within the broad context of imaging, there are diagnostic, clinical and administrative applications. Diagnos- tic imaging can be radiographic, ultrasound, visible light and laser fluorescence. The clinical applica- tionsincludesurgicalmicroscopes,magnifiedvideo systems and optical impression systems. The ad- ministrativeapplicationsareconcernedwithdigital record-keeping, computer simulation, consultative and communication applications. In considering the number and types of imaging applications and the number of companies who manufacture and market these to dentistry, it is not surprising that manydentistsarefrustratedandconfusedastothe efficacy,implementationandfinancialimplications associated with incorporating these technologies. This article will address the clinical perspective of these technologies, and the manner in which our office has incorporated many of these applications over the last few decades. _History Abriefhistoryofourofficeisnecessarytoputall this in perspective. Our private practice is 34 years old and has been a leading-edge practice since its inception. As with many other early adopters, our decisions were not always well thought through and return on invested dollar was not always considered and not always successful. I have used our office environment as a learning laboratory, which has fuelled my lectures, and published arti- cles on technologies and leading-edge applications for over 20 years. The journey began in 1982 with our first computer, which served as a billing and accounting system. From there we transitioned to amini-mainframe(AlphaMicrosystem)withserver andoperatoryworkstationsin1985.Fastforwardto today; we have two office locations in suburban Chicago, connected by a T1 line and a single Eagle- soft dental software database (Patterson Dental) in a completely chartless environment. Our early technology environment did not be- come complicated until we wanted to add clinical applications to our system. There were many chal- lenges with technology integration, not the least were the cart delivery systems used by most of the companies. The first intra-oral camera system was cosmeticdentistry 3_2010 Imaging in dentistry: Aclinical perspective Author_ Dr Claudio M. Levato, USA Fig. 1eFig. 1c Fig. 1a Fig. 1b Fig. 1d Figs. 1a–e_Our different websites over the years: 1993 (a); 1998 (b); 2005 (c); 2007 (d); and 2010 (e).