Ama-Assn.org (2010-12-20) – Mobile applications let people “check in” anywhere to let others know where they are — including your practice. But applications also let people talk about you.

Seeing patients texting in your waiting room is not new. But what you may not know is that the patients who appear to be texting are actually on the Internet telling their friends and social networks where they are, and what’s going on around them.

Through a technology called geolocation, mobile smartphone users have the ability to “check in” at various businesses and locations, alerting their virtual friends to their whereabouts. They do this using mobile phone applications that work with a smartphone’s GPS system, which identifies the users’ location. Though it began as a way for people to let friends know where they could be found, people are now using geolocation networks to check in anywhere from the bus stop to the grocery store, from their favorite restaurant to your waiting room. read more …

PalmBeachPost (2010-12-22) – Look for these high-tech goodies in dental offices near you to make your visits more comfortable, faster and, in many cases, less costly in 2011 (and beyond). 1. Digital computerized X-rays 2. Digital impressions 3. Six-month smiles (short-term orthodontics) 4. Implants ‘plus’ 5. Computerized periodontal probing