Waiheke Dental Centre
Targeting areas of concern early means better patient solutions
Waiheke Dental Centre has been using EXACT practice management software since Dr Mike Stephens set up the dental practice in 1999.
“It was cutting-edge practice management software then and it still is now”, he says.
Dr Stephens is a firm believer in minimal intervention dentistry. Young or old, he works hard to keep his patients’ teeth healthy. He says that the keys to being able to practice minimal intervention dentistry are regular dental attendance and first-class digital imaging.
Having upgraded to EXACT dental software in November 2014, Mike is pleased with how well automatic recalls – SMS, emails and EasyPost – are working for him.
“We’re getting a higher rate of patient retention,” says Mike. “And we’re able to offer better customer care.”
With a small administrative team of two part-timers, being able to utilise time efficiently is key. The mammoth task of phoning and booking recalls can now be done automatically using EXACT, which means staff can focus on reactivating patients.
“We’re taking that time to reach out to our patients who haven’t been in a while; the uptake has been significant.”
The other important strand in minimal intervention dentistry is advanced diagnostic tools. It was the way Examine Pro stored high-quality images, integrated seamlessly with EXACT, and made it easy to store, retrieve and use images from a variety of sources into a single database that led Mike to adopt the module.
Eleven years on he can’t imagine life without it. “The quality of the images is excellent. It allows me to zoom in and manipulate parts of an image while retaining excellent clarity. It can be easier to see problem areas on the screen than while looking in a patient’s mouth, and I can be sure I am targeting the problem areas preventively."
“Examine Pro is one of the best tools I’ve got for early detection”, he said.
Using Examine Pro, everything can be scanned and saved to a patient’s file, making filing effortless. It reduces human error and means Mike can be sure everything is carefully stored in one place. Being digital means it is accessible to Mike at the touch of a button.
“Using Examine Pro with EXACT at the chairside makes excellent sense. Early detection of problems means better patient solutions”, said Mike.