Traveling With an Old Friend

That was 14 years ago and, after all these years, DEXIS digital X-ray still gives me all that I ever wanted in a digital system—clear, crisp images; comfort from the sensor design; and durability. Now DEXIS has given me so much more—a chance to improve the quality of care we deliver to patients in the most remote areas of the world, and at the same time enhance the dental education of dentists in those same developing countries.

Taking DEXIS digital radiographs is simple. When the sensor detects radiation, the image is automatically saved, dated, tooth numbered, and correctly oriented with one mouse click. My staff members are glad that they don’t ever have to mount a full series of X-rays again. One employee, whose job it was to change the chemicals in the film processor, would come into the office on a Saturday and proceed to perform a ritual where she took apart the processor and spread all of the parts out on the counter. The three days before the processor was cleaned and the three days after, we had to put up with less than optimal X-ray images. With all of the moving parts involved, the processor was our dental repairman’s best friend. Digital radiographs are immediate, clear, detailed and able to be enlarged to fill the size of my monitor, if necessary.

DEXIS digital sensors are very portable. The direct USB connection allows them to be transported between operatories without docking stations or other equipment that can get lost or broken. One of the greatest testaments to their durability is the fact that a DEXIS digital sensor has accompanied me on my humanitarian aid trips to Haiti. We set up portable dental clinics in towns, using a few tables and chairs in facilities with no electricity. Thank goodness we had a portable X-ray unit and the DEXIS digital system.

The sensor was rugged and durable, surviving its trip in a suitcase bouncing over bumpy roads and in very hot working conditions. There was no way that we could have maintained X-ray chemicals at a proper temperature or stored film correctly. DEXIS allowed us to move quickly and to gain the necessary diagnostics when working in those harsh conditions, treating hundreds of people who spoke a different language.

We stored the X-rays on a computer and downloaded the information to a thumb drive so when we come back for our next trip, we will have electronic records available. For towns with no electricity, that is amazing. Besides assisting us in the field, DEXIS donated a sensor to the Haiti Dental School, which has allowed me to teach their aspiring dentists about this important standard of care in dentistry that is not only achievable in America.

As a long-term DEXIS customer, digital X-rays have helped improve my diagnostic capabilities and to provide educational opportunities for my patients in the United States as well. Taking the DEXIS sensor with me to Haiti was like traveling with a good friend—reliable, and durable, and always ready to help.