Wait Until You See This!!

In my opinion, one of the major ingredients for successful case presentation is to take the time to schedule second visit consultations with your patients and present treatment choices. A picture truly is worth 1000 words–and more and more dentists  have become adept at showing photos. I think that a good digital camera is perhaps the most important piece of equipment you can own, and something that in this day and age, you just can’t practice without! Loading these photos into a computer–perhaps even organizing them into a PowerPoint presentation–is a great way to communicate. We have come a long way from showing x-rays (patients have no clue what you are showing them)  and drawing squiggly  lines on the bracket table cover.

But this technology seems 19th century compared to showing photos on an I-Pad. The vivid LED  backlit display  makes viewing photos on the I-Pad extraordinary. I have never seen anything so crisp and clear. You can see and touch the photos in intuitive new ways. And using the multi-touch screen to move and drag and enlarge photos is so high-tech and very impressive to your patient.

In preparation for your treatment presentation, take the photos from a little further away than you might normally do, because with the I-Pad they can be significantly enlarged. Your digital photos are imported into the I-Pad directly from your camera either with a camera connection kit  or a connector to the SD card.  Use some type of basic photo editing program to perhaps brighten them and clean them up.  The I-Pad  can also be synced to your computer so that the photos are stored in both places.

At your consultation visit with the patient, instead of the two of you looking at a computer screen at images that can’t be manipulated, the whole experience becomes so much more intimate for the patient when you sit right next to them  holding the I-Pad and you start moving the photos around. And of course, when you turn the I-Pad, the photos automatically align with the new position of the I-Pad.

I was blown away with the impressiveness of this technology and the cost is pretty minimal–about $450. I predict that once you try this way of presenting treatment, you’ll be as excited as I am and you’re never going back to the way that you use to show your photos. I would very much appreciate your thoughts and comments.