DentiMax Sensors, Practice Management Software Cover All the Bases

Arizona dentist Kent Stapley, DMD, talks frequently with fellow dentists, some of whom work out of the same building in Mesa, Arizona, where he has practiced for over 25 years. When sharing stories and comparing notes with his colleagues, he glows with joy when talking about the results he gets in his practice from using DentiMax practice management software as well as the company’s digital x-ray sensors.

Dr Stapley switched from another prominent practice management software solution years ago and loves the ease of use and the features he gets from DentiMax, all the while knowing that he’s paying significantly less for his current software.

When it comes to his sensors, it’s more of the same. He loves the detail and the capabilities he has with his DentiMax Dream Sensor, which again is more affordable than other leading brands in the dental industry, he says.

When his hygienist requested her own sensor, he added the Open Sensor from DentiMax to his practice, and this even less expensive option also gets the job done quite well.

“I started with DentiMax back around 2008, and I began with the Dream Sensor,” Dr Stapley explains. “More recently I added another sensor for my hygienist because she wanted to have a sensor all the time. It is a less expensive sensor that was kind of new and we helped them beta test it, the Open Sensor. It’s worked great for us.”

Not only is the Open Sensor ideal for his hygienist, but the images are also such high quality that most staff members are hard-pressed to notice any differences from the Dream Sensor’s diagnostics.

“In our practice we have the Dream Sensor and the Open Sensor, and for us, it’s kind of hard to tell the difference. I can tell the difference, but the staff isn’t really keyed one way or the other. The difference is minuscule enough that I’m OK with using it,” he adds.

Favorable Comparisons

It’s one thing for Dr Stapley to be satisfied with the images he regularly gets from his Dream Sensor, but when compared to what some of his colleagues are producing, he knows he made the right choice to work with DentiMax.

His staff at Mesa Dental Health receives x-rays from other offices and, in many cases, the imaging just isn’t as good as what they’re getting with their DentiMax sensors. In addition to this, a dentist who practices in the same building as Dr Stapley uses a competitor’s sensors and, according to Dr Stapley, the results can’t compare.

“I don’t know how he works with the images he takes. He’s seen mine, and I’ve seen his,” he says. “He’s invested so much in his that he doesn’t want to change, but he’s kind of defensive of his [choice] because he’s spent a lot.

“We’re glad that we have what we have. It’s very diagnostic, and we’ve never really run into issues at all. In the past when we’ve changed computers, they’ve had to adjust filters to help us get our images right where we want them, and DentiMax provided the support. They were able to help us right then.”

One feature Dr Stapley loves with his sensors is the contrast function. It may not be needed by every clinician, but he surely experiences the benefits.

“There’s another dentist on my side of the office who uses these sensors as well, and he doesn’t ever go in and adjust the contrast. He just takes the image that kicks out. He’s happy with it and diagnoses from it,” he says. “I like going in there and using the tool that allows me to adjust the contrast. I feel like I can see a lot of the more subtle conditions coming on if I get in there and adjust the contrast. It’s a neat little tool, and I use that constantly.”

The ability to blow up images to full screen without losing much resolution is also a plus. This helps him see images from across the operatory and helps with patient communication and, thus, treatment acceptance.

“I use the contrast feature, and I’m able to pick out little things and show it to the patient,” Dr Stapley says. “I have the monitor in front of the patient. It’s right there in black and white, with shades of gray, literally [for the patient]. A regular x-ray shows pretty much everything that’s going on and it creates some urgency with the patient, who realizes, ‘Yeah, I’d better get after that.’”

Software and Storage

Just like the sensors, the DentiMax practice management software delivers optimal results at a lower cost. Dr Stapley is happy with the efficiency of the software, the confidence he gets from its security, and the ability to store images easily both locally and in the cloud. DentiMax allows the staff to create their own reports, and a key feature for Dr Stapley is a screen that shows all of his practice’s production by provider.

“It’s a pretty powerful little feature that I use on a regular basis,” he says. “I can quickly check on what I’m doing up front and what I’m doing in back. It’s just a schedule production tab, and you can also look at payments that were applied that day—at a glance. You don’t have to have a report. You can just glance at any point in the day and see payments that are posted that day. It is a really easy screen, pretty much updated in real time. As soon as it’s done up front, you can see it. I’m often looking at production in the back, but I can also peek at my front office and look into collections and whatnot. Without looking at a lot of reports, I am able to pull up information that I need just from that feature. You don’t have to wait for reports to print or for it to tabulate. It’s just quick. That’s my favorite feature.”

Again, he’s glad he found something that works well for his practice and doesn’t come with sticker shock. “The software doesn’t really find us wanting for anything else. We haven’t felt like we need to go shopping for practice management software because we know everyone else is going to cost more,” Dr Stapley says. “The support is inexpensive for us. With our previous software, it cut into my overhead quite a bit with all the payment plans and different modules. Now my software costs overall are minuscule compared to what they were before.”

All in all, he says, “we’re really clean. We’ve got our bases covered.”