Walk with a pen, or fly with a computer. Can electronic dentistry work for you?

In the last several years, dentistry has crossed over into the new frontier of electronic dentistry. It has embraced such developments as computer programs for producing digital radiographs and photographs, as well as digital programs that enhance these images, store and organize them into a retrievable "chart-like" fashion, and transmit them via the Internet. In Europe, I saw patients with an electronic "health card." This credit card-sized CD can carry all the information on a patient's written charts, results of laboratory tests, radiographic/imaging information and more. It is expected that the mobile phone will be an alternate vehicle for patient records, and that these records will be accessed with a password security system. This will allow patients to carry their records from location to location. Certainly, the dental implications of such seemingly advanced processes are evident. The expression, "The future is now," was never truer.