Dental Informatics and the Evolution of Computers—the Roles of Organized Dentistry

Abstract

Prior to 1980 computers were used sparingly in private dental practices. When I was collecting information for my master’s thesis on computers in dentistry in 1978 (Kiser, A. Computer Applications for Dental Practice and Program Management, University of North Carolina Health Sciences Library, Chapel Hill) a practice management consulting firm with hundreds of clients in the southeastern United States could identify just one computerized dental practice for me to visit. That dentist had invested over $100,000 to build a customized system that performed only very basic office management functions. During the 1970s computers were not practical for most dental practices because home computers were too slow and minicomputers and mainframes were too expensive. The first offices to computerize tended to be group practices where the volume of administrative work was greater and the computer costs could be shared among several dentists.