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Dr. DiTolla's Patient Product Review

August 6, 2010
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Michael DiTolla, DDS, FAGD
Dr. DiTolla's Patient Product Review Cover image

In the PC world, we are called “Fanboys”: the group of people who love everything Apple puts out. From the iPod to the iPhone to the iPad, we are the ones who will even try to make an argument for why AppleTV is useful. We are to Apple products what my teenage daughters are to Justin Bieber: obsessed.

Fortunately, when Apple sells 2 million iPads in the first 60 days you realize that maybe you aren’t insane. I have found plenty of things to do with my iPad, and nowadays my Mac laptop stays at work and doesn’t even get dragged home. I do 99% of my daily activities on the iPad using the intuitive touch screen to flip through emails and web pages.

Figure 1

Figure 1: This screen shows the patient a tooth requiring a crown and illustrates the two most common causes: fractured cusp and/or decay.

Figure 2

Figure 2: This image explains to the patient the rough crown prep on the tooth; however, there is still tooth structure missing.

Figure 3

Figure 3: This illustration shows the patient the finished buildup and explains how the tooth is now strong enough to handle the load of having a crown on top; the buildup insulates the pulp to help prevent endo.

Figure 4

Figure 4: The patient can see how the crown slides into place on our ideal crown prep. Keep in mind these are still frames that are actually animated on the iPad; it is not static as it appears here. 

Figure 5

Figure 5: This animation shows the patient the beautifully finished porcelain crown with perfect margins and healthy gingiva — the kind of stuff we see all day long! 

I was convinced I would never have a need to bring my iPad to work until I had the opportunity to use the Dental Demo Suite at the May 2010 CDA meeting in Anaheim, California. Finally, I was going to be able to use my love for Apple products to be productive at work!

Dental Demo Suite is a simple, effective patient-education program sold through the Apple App Store. Gone are the days of me trying to draw on the bracket table paper to explain an abscess, or trying to explain why we have to build up a tooth just so we can grind it down again. In fact, that has been one of my favorite animations; I love having a straightforward way to illustrate why buildups are necessary. Unlike other patient-education methods in which the patient has to watch a DVD, this is truly interactive as you (or your assistant or your hygienist) use the animations to educate and answer questions regarding treatment. As you place your finger on the slider, it allows you to move backward and forward to answer questions about specific aspects of the proposed treatment. Many patients have taken it out of my hands to activate the animation themselves. There is no doubt that educated patients make better purchase decisions. You can generate treatment plans, email your patients directly from the program, and even add your own images to the ones that come standard in the program. I also love that once you buy the program it is yours; there is no annual fee, subscription fee or update fee.

For more information on Dental Demo Suite GP, call 800-631-2021 or visit the Apple App Store or dentaldemosuite.com.*