Everyone says digital dentistry is here. For most practices it's halfway here, and the half that's missing costs more time and money than it should.
Dr. John Flucke is a full-time general dentist in Lee's Summit, Missouri, host of The Technology Evangelist podcast and blog, and for decades the technology editor of Dental Products Report. He has spent his career testing dental technology before most practices buy it. In this episode, Dr. Lorne Lavine asks him what's real, what's hype, and how a busy practice should bring new technology in.
What they cover:
- What a truly digital workflow looks like, and why most practices are still at the hybrid stage
- Why the intraoral scanner is the doorway to everything digital, and how many offices already have one
- The "it's only" problem: how $200 and $500 subscriptions add up to $10,000 to $20,000 a month
- Where AI is genuinely helping dental offices now, and why consolidation is coming
- Why dentistry is a relationship business first, and how AI can give your team more time with patients
- Is 3D printing still the future? What's holding practices back, and the easy things to print first
- John's 10-crown rule for adopting new technology without risking a patient
- Why expensive equipment ends up unused, and how to get your team to own the change
- Where to find the time to learn new technology in a full practice
THE ONE THING FROM THIS EPISODE
Budget your time the way you budget for equipment. Block one set time each week, like Tuesday lunch, to learn or test one new thing. If you wait until you have the time, you'll never have it.
Find Dr. Flucke's Technology Evangelist podcast and blog by searching "John Flucke".
WORK WITH US
Marketing: book a strategy meeting with Naren's team at ekwa.com/wired
Technology: schedule a call with Lorne at thedigitaldentist.com/call
Subscribe at wireddentistry.com/subscribe for the episode, plus the one thing from it worth doing, written down.
Chapters
00:00:00 – Introduction: Meet Dr. John Flucke
00:06:53 – Is Digital Dentistry Really Here?
00:09:19 – Most Practices Are Hybrid, and Why Scanners Matter
00:11:36 – Too Many Systems and the "It's Only" Problem
00:14:06 – Where AI Really Stands in Dentistry
00:16:50 – Dentistry Is a Relationship Business
00:19:05 – How AI Is Changing Design and 3D Printing
00:21:50 – Is 3D Printing Still the Future?
00:25:44 – John's 10-Crown Rule for New Technology
00:29:42 – Why Expensive Equipment Ends Up Unused
00:31:19 – Test It First, Then Hand It to the Team
00:33:26 – Where Do You Find the Time?
00:37:09 – How to Find Dr. Flucke