Investing in the latest technology in the later years of practice

William Huntzinger, DDS

I graduated from Case Western Reserve Dental School in 1980 and completed my general practice residency in 1981 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, New York. I worked with another dentist for about a year before opening my own office in Swanton, Ohio. From the very beginning of my career, I invested in products and equipment that I believed would improve patient care while increasing profit.

As an eager adopter of technology, I learned very early in my career that embracing new technology drives patient care to new levels, increases production, and improves workflow. As soon as I completed my residency program, I purchased one of the first curing lights offered on the market, and I thought it was one of the best things ever made. Throughout the years there have been so many products that I’ve invested in, including an air abrasion system, rotary endo instruments, a diode and erbium laser, intraoral cameras, digital x-rays, a computerized tomography machine, a CariVu caries detection device (DEXIS), a CEREC chairside milling unit (Dentsply Sirona), and our latest tool for success purchased a year-and-a-half ago, the Solea 9.3 μm CO2 laser (Convergent Dental).

All of these investments have helped our practice go from one dentist (me), one front desk person, two assistants, and one hygienist in a three-operatory office to three offices, 10 dentists, and 52 staff members. Two locations are state-of-the-art, 12-operatory practices. The third is older, includes five operatories, and is currently undergoing renovation.